By
Christopher Arko, GNA
Accra, Nov.19 GNA – Dr
Mark Assibey-Yeboah, Chairman of the Finance Committee has maintained that the
country’s economy is on a sound footing and that every single macro-economic
indicator has improved.
According to him the
volatilities in the exchange rate had stabilised, the upswings and downswings
that happened under the NDC was no more.
“It is unattractive
to hold the greenback, people are now moving into the cedis, if you hold
foreign currency you don’t gain anything”.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah
made the statement when he seconded the motion for Parliament to approve the
Financial Policy of the Government of Ghana for the year ending 2020.
The Finance
Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta on Wednesday, November 13, 2019, presented the 2020
Budget Statement and Economic Policy of government to Parliament, where he
outlined programmes and policies to achieve this vision.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah
also argued that the inflation rate, which stood at 15.4 percent at the end of 2016
has now been halved to 7.7 percent, whilst interest rate reduced from 17
percent to 14.4 percent.
He said Ghana’s
credit story over the past three years compared to a decade ago had improved
tremendously and that all the international credit rating agencies had given
the country a positive outlook.
“You think they just
improved our credit ratings for the sake of it, something good must be
happening,” he added.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah
also indicated that the GDP growth rate at the time opposition National
Democratic Congress (NDC) were leaving office in 2016 was 3.4percent and that
Ghana is projected to grow at 7 percent this year.
He said comparing
the performance of the Administration of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) with
that of the NDC would be an exercise in mediocrity.
“I’ll would rather
want compare Ghana to its peers in terms of economic growth in Sub-Sahara
Africa and countries in the emerging markets,” the Finance Committee Chairman
said.
Mr Cassiel Ato
Forson, Ranking Member on Finance, debunked the Finance Minister’s statement
that the government has not imposed new taxes on the people as false.
He cited for example
the extension of the National Fiscal Stabilisation Levy and Special Import
Levy, introduction of the Communication Service Tax, increase in the petroleum
taxes and the decoupling of the NHIS Levy and the GETFund Levy has increased
the taxes Ghanaians pay.
Mr Forosn explained
that the incidence of all these taxes and levies took more money from the
people than what government gave them through the Free SHS and other
programmes, and described the statement that 2020, was a year of roads as a
trick.
He said Government
failed to take pragmatic steps to address the poor road network in the country,
saying the amount allocated in the budget was for the Road Fund and that there
was no dedicated funding for the road infrastructure.
GNA
