<<Print>>

CHAOS yesterday preceded the presentation of the 2012 budget statement, which members of the Minority New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Parliament described as �Enkoyie� �bye, bye� and �propaganda� budget, with the Majority side cheering it as an economic policy document for a better Ghana. The Majority NDC gave the Finance and Economic Planning Minister, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, a thunderous applause after his over two-hour presentation. The NPP Minority, on the other hand, clapped �away, away, away,� as if that was the last budget presentation by the minister. According to the Minority, the whole budget presentation by Dr. Duffuor was pure propaganda as parliament was virtually turned into a rally ground during which the minister merely announced unachievable policies to woo Ghanaians for votes in next year�s elections. It was also described as a recycle of unfulfilled promises presented to Parliament in a new budget document churned out for the consideration of the House. Citing the building of fishing harbours and landing sites for fishing communities, the Minority said it had been the replica of the same statement from 2009 when the NDC took over the reins of government However, the governing NDC MPs cheered Dr. Duffuor on for presenting what they described as a �Better Ghana Agenda� that would stimulate accelerated growth for development and job creation in the country. But even before the budget was presented, it took members of the House almost an hour to settle heated disagreements on procedural matters after the Finance and Economic Planning Minister had apparently been misled by the Majority in laying the 2012 annual budget estimates for three state institutions contained in the main budget, which had not yet been presented to the House. The budget estimates for the three institutions, namely the Judicial Service, Audit Service and Parliament, according to some lawmakers, were usually laid and referred to a special budget committee of the House for consideration and report after the main budget had been presented by the minister for Finance and Economic Planning and not the other way round. After an animated debate amidst boos and jeers on the issue, with some MPs, including former Majority Leader Alban Bagbin, who is also the Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, had described as �alien� to the House, Speaker Justice Joyce Bamford-Addo had to call for the withdrawal of the motion for the laying of the papers. The unusual spectacle, which kept members of the media and other dignitaries at the public gallery waiting for close to an hour, apparently embarrassed some MPs from the NDC side, who called on their leadership to sit up and put government business in order. Settling of the issue eventually paved the way for Dr. Duffour to present the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of President Mills for 2012. The presentation was described by the Minority NPP as �uninspiring� not exuding any hope to Ghanaians, further labeling the budget as �enkoyie budget� (it is not going) and �bye, bye budget�, being the last budget before election 2012. In post budget reactions, the NPP MP for Adansi Asokwa, K.T Hammond, summed up President Mills�s economic policy statement as �hopelessly useless�, arguing there was nothing new in it to improve the lives of Ghanaians. Mr. Hammond, who is also a former deputy minster for Energy, said posterity would judge the Mills administration as the worst government in the history of Ghana as all of its economic policies over the past three years had worsened the plight of Ghanaians. However, Dr. Duffuor described the budget, which was on the theme Infrastructure �Development for Accelerated Growth and Job Creation�, as a policy statement that would stimulate economic growth and massive infrastructural development for the overall improvement in the standard of living of Ghanaians. The key infrastructural projects to be implemented in 2012, he indicated, would be consistent with the Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda (GSGDA) in the areas of electricity, oil and gas; water and sanitation; railways, roads, and ports; and health, education, and agriculture. According to him, in pursuit of the social democratic principles of the NDC Government, the 2012 budget would continue the implementation of a number of pro-poor intervention programmes that would provide equal opportunities and improvement in the well-being of our people. The scope of the numerous social intervention programmes, he pledged, would be expanded to benefit a greater number of vulnerable people in the society. �In order to accelerate the achievement of universal health coverage, Government will commence the implementation of the one-time premium payment policy under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS),� Dr. Duffuor stated. He said to further improve financial controls and efficiency, the NHIS would pilot capitation as an alternative Provider Payment Mechanism (PPM). Furthermore, the review of the NHIS law by Parliament would result in a major restructuring of the scheme at the district, regional and national levels. Rounding up his presentation, the Minister said: �Madam Speaker, we promised Ghanaians a better Ghana and we have significantly delivered on this promise; we promised to remove schools under trees and we are very much on course; we promised to remove iniquities in incomes through the single spine and we are very much on course; we promised to move the economy from fragility to robustness, yes we have; we promised to significantly expand the economy and we have; we promised to arrest inflation, yes we have; we promised to arrest rapid depreciation of the cedi, yes we have; we promised to provide free uniforms and exercise books, yes we have; we promised to deliver skills and jobs to our youth, yes we have; we promised to expand the school feeding programme, yes we have; we promised to provide schools with computers and Maths and Science scholarships, yes we have; we promised to establish public private partnership policy, yes we have; we promised to deepen competition in the telecom industry, yes we have. �Madam Speaker, these achievements give us confidence that in the coming years, Ghanaians can continue to trust the NDC government to faithfully steer the affairs of our dear nation. �Madam Speaker, indeed, this is a budget that heralds the march towards a better Ghana and gives hope of a brighter tomorrow and the building of a nation that is truly great and strong.� But Minority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu believed the Finance Minister was simply dabbling in political talk. He said there was nothing new in the 2012 budget, insisting it was simply a replica of the 2011 budget which achieved nothing. Mr Kyei-Mensah Bonsu said the minister ought to be telling Ghanaians what happened to President Mills�s action year declared at the beginning of the year. In his view, but for the contribution of oil resources, the economy would be in a more catastrophic situation than it was currently.