The Cocoa sector of the Ghanaian economy is expected to gain within the 2021 fiscal year, the budget statement for the year read by the Leader of Government Business, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has said.

The budget forecasts the sector to gain by 1.6 per cent in cocoa prices.

Meanwhile, the budget statement has indicated that businesses in Ghana were performing before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Majority Leader said government had put in place prudent fiscal measures to grow the economy.

These measures he said, were yielding fruits until the virus emerged to disrupt everything.

“Mr Speaker, three years prior to the pandemic as a government we had a plan. We stayed focused, kept our discipline, kept our promises and worked with integrity, creativity and compassion. “As a result, the economy saw a turn around and economic gross rate doubled from 3.4 per cent in 2016 to average 7 per cent annually.

“The Banking sector cleanup had been completed, businesses were doing well and creating jobs, food production was growing with bumper harvest and suddenly Ghana had become major tourist attraction.

“We were indeed on a path of fiscal consolidation by 2019. But out of nowhere the COVID-19 Global pandemic hit us.”