The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has assured the Minority Caucus that their concerns over the 2022 budget will be addressed.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, November 30, 2021, Ken Ofori-Atta insisted that in preparing the budget, government considered its possible effects on the living conditions of Ghanaians.

The Minority Caucus earlier rejected the budget due to concerns over its impact on the already suffering Ghanaians among others. They outlined five conditions under which they would approve the 2022 budget.
The Minority wants the proposed e-levy suspended, withdrawal of the Agyapa deal, provision for the victims of the tidal wave disaster in the Volta Region, restoration of the benchmark values of imports, and proper re-construction of the wording relating to the Aker Energy deal.

Ken Ofori-Atta said these concerns, “would be addressed and we would have established a budget that will build an entrepreneurial nation, resolved our unemployment problems, and resolve our debt problems.”

On the electronic levy, he said that discussions are being held with the telecommunication companies to scale the 1.75% rate to “moderate their impact so that in the end, the impact on the citizenry will be manageable.”

He further said that the consultations are still ongoing over the Agyapa deal.

“A-G is still working on that and any such issues will be brought to Parliament. In fact, the estimates do not include any revenue from that transaction,” he said.

Concerning the benchmark values on imports, Ken Ofori-Atta said that the government is committed to ensuring that “all traders become a part of the manufactural enterprise.”

“We commit to look at this problem for the [Blekuso] coastline in the coming weeks to ensure we have resources and ensure that all on the coastline are taken care of,” the Finance Minister said.

He said that the Minority’s concerns about the Aker Energy deal will be corrected during committee meetings.

The 1st Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu who presided said, “this House has approved the budget statement and economic policy of the government for the year ending 31st December 2022, subject to the concessions given by the Finance Minister.”