The Member of Parliament (MP) for Sagnarigu constituency in the Northern Region, Alhaji A.B.A Fuseini has described the 2020 budget statement as a ”funeral announcement”.
Speaking to Kwabena Agyapong on Frontline o9n Rainbow Radio 87.5Fm, he said instead of alleviating the suffering of Ghanaians, the budget will worsen the hardship citizens are going through.
The legislator when asked why he thinks the budget will worsen the plight of Ghanaians he said, the budget is full of falsehoods.
He said the falsehoods are ”mind-boggling” and has embarrassed the nation.
Citing the number of farmers who have benefited from the planting for food and jobs programme, he said the Minister quoted an outrageous figure of GHc880 million.
When his attention was drawn to the fact that it could pass for a typographical error, he disagreed saying the minister was emphatic when he presented the budget.
On the issue of employing over 55,000 nurses and midwives, the NDC MP described the figure as palpable falsehood.
He said when former President Mahama was exiting offices, the total figure of employed nurses and midwives was 60, 267.
The breakdown he said was 52, 605 for nurses with the remaining 5, 662 for midwives.
He said the NPP has only employed 8225 employed between 2017 and 2018.
”This is a deliberate lie by the minister to make the government look good,” he said.
Mr. Fuseini on roads said the NPP in 2017, 2018 and 2019 budgets promised to work on deplorable roads, but failed to do as stated and has repeated same in the 2020 budget.
Delivering the 2020 Budget in Parliament on Wednesday, the Finance Minister said the government will largely focus and prioritize road projects to improve infrastructure in that sector and bring an end to the cries of Ghanaians for better roads.
But the legislator said the NPP since took over office has nothing to show in the roads sector.
Mr. Ken Ofori Atta also revealed that the 2020 budget would review the country’s tax exemption policy and said a lot of resources are lost in exemptions and it is, therefore, time to straighten it out and make the exemptions count.
He communicated to the House that government flagship programmes including the Free Senior High School (SHS) programme and Planting for Food and Jobs will receive dedicated funding and admitted that the government will ensure the roads are done and flagship projects are going on.
He further explained that the 2020 Budget is important because it is an election year Budget and also the second Budget since Ghana’s exit from the IMF as well as the first Budget to be prepared following the passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
The Finance Minister said that in 2020, the government will focus on radical policies to raise taxes not by introducing more but through enhanced collections and intensification of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as well as enhancement of financial support to local enterprises.
Government, he clarified, will also use digitization to improve her services, accelerate infrastructural development, focus on science and technology and its commercialization and resource the Electoral Commission to run a free and fair elections.
The Minister articulated that government will not overspend because it wants to win elections and that the Nana Akufo-Addo’s government is not prepared to throw away all the sacrifices and gains over the last three years. Despite the limited resources at government’s disposal, the Minister posited, it implemented flagship programmes, gave out stimulus packages and funded social programmes.
However, Mr. Fuseini believes the budget was uninspiring and full of lies meant to deceive Ghanaians.
He said the NPP has also promised to just construct 67kilometres of road.
”This is pure deception,” he added stressing that budget did not touch on issues that will transform the lives of citizens.
He has asked President to resign because he is incompetent and not fit for the job despite having 124 ministers.
To him, we are living in a very difficult time under President Nana Akufo-Addo.
He said the suffering and hardship is unprecedented because it is only the friends and family who are not feeling the economic hardship.
The NPP government will be booted out in 2020. The ruling NPP is not coming to power again. The 2020 budget is their last budget.
”This is the last budget under Nana Akufo-Addo. Nana Akufo-Addo will be booted out on December 7 2020, and so this government is not coming back after January 7, 2021, because Ghanaians are suffering. life is worse under Akufo-Addo. Nana Addo is running the most expensive government in the world.”
Source: Rashid Obodai Provencal|rainbowradioonline.com