By Morkporkpor Anku
Accra, July 31, GNA – The government announced on Monday that the country’s economic goal will be mostly funded by local and external private sector investments, as well as the rationalisation of ongoing programs.
The approach, according to Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, was to prioritize current programs that were vital for growth and could be completed quickly without putting a strain on the available budgetary resources.
The Minister disclosed this when he presented the 2023 Mid-Year Budget Statement and Policy Review to Parliament.
The Review was to update economic performance for the first half of 2023 and an outlook for the rest of the year.
It was also to provide an update on the implementation of the IMF-supported Post COVID-19-Programme of Economic Growth (PC-PEG), the Debt Restructuring Programme, the revised fiscal plan for 2023, and explain the government’s Growth Strategy to drive the recovery process.
Mr Ofori-Atta stated that the government would “aggressively” urge the private sector to promote shared growth based on job creation, food security, exports, and import substitution through the “Ghana Mutual Prosperity Dialogue Framework.”
To that end, the government, he said, is expected to finalise a Growth Strategy in August 2023.
Key elements of the Growth Strategy include scaling up and aggregation in Agriculture, as well as value-addition for key staples such as rice, poultry, maize, soya, and tomatoes.
The strategy would also support Industrial Parks and Economic zones that promote innovation and efficiency for key sectors such as the automotive, pharmaceutical, technology, textile, and garment industries.
It is intended to promote tourism to increase earnings and create jobs; deepen the digitalisation of public services to enhance service delivery; extend housing delivery programs; and deepen financial intermediation programs to promote inclusiveness and entrepreneurship.
GNA