Ghana Politics -The Vice-President, Dr Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia says government’s economic policies are targeted at placing monies in people’s pockets.
Rather than having to spend monies in getting services or on their wards in school as well as training colleges, the government, according to the VEEP has absorbed such burden on itself by bearing these costs.
These interventions, he noted has led to parents as well as the public keeping such monies they would have spent on relatives or wards in their pockets.
Speaking at the third National Policy Summit in the capital of the Ashanti Region last Monday, the VEEP said these interventions as well as initiatives has provided relief to the ordinary Ghanaian such as parents, kayayei, the elderly, teacher trainees, nursing trainees unemployed graduates and others.
‘’If we take the various social intervention and welfare packages provided by government we can determine the amount of money that government has saved the people of Ghana from paying’’, the VEEP posited.
DETAILS:
The VEEP said the reduction in electricity tariffs consisting of non-special tariff customers and special load tariff customers for 2018 alone amounts to a total of GHC 1.8billion cedis.
He noted government’s decision to pay for the cost of flagship programs such as fertilizer subsidy, planting for food and jobs, subsidy for BECE candidates, free SHS, school feeding program nursing and teacher trainee allowances amongst others has indirectly saved the Ghanaian people from paying for these in excess GHC 2billion cedis.
Tax measures the government instituted such as the abolishment of 5% of VAT on real estate sales, abolishment of 17.5% VAT on financial services as well as others account for over GHC 1.4billion revenue loss to government.
Other interventions such as the increase in peace keeping allowances from 30dollars to 35dollars, increase in share of the District Assembly Common Fund paid to persons with disability and all others aforementioned put together, Dr Bawumia noted amounts to a whopping 54.6billion cedis.
‘’The sum total of all government’s intervention and inititiave is over GHC 54.6 billion and this is significant relief to ordinary Ghanaians’’, the VEEP stressed.
INFORMATION MINISTER:
Speaking earlier at the Summit, Dr Mustapha Hamid, Minister of Information noted government’s desire to get feedback and suggestions from the people.
This, he noted informs the now instituted policy summit where the government assembles its economic team managers so they could be assessed by the people as well as get suggestions and ideas from them.
REGIONAL MINISTER:
On his part, Simon Osei Mensah, Ashanti Regional Minister urged the public to take active participation in such forums the government presents.
This, he noted will afford them the opportunity to learn at first hand the projects the government is implementing and also get education on how they could also benefit or contribute to its success.
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