Skip to main content

Govt ready to slash donor support by 50%

By Fred SARPONG

The government, led by Prof. John Evans Atta Mills, has taken a bold step to reduce the support from its donor partners by at least 50% from the beginning of 2012.

This in anticipation that by the beginning of 2012, the revenue agencies would have been fully integrated, making the nation’s dependence on donor support inconsiderable.

The Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Fiifi Kwetey, confirmed this to Business Week after the official launch of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) logo in Accra.

According to him, this will place the government in a strong position to pursue its ‘Better Ghana’ agenda.

“It is a long time this nation has consistently depended on donor support, for several developmental projects in the country. As a country, we need to seek other avenue to generate revenue in order to reduce support from our foreign partners,” said Kwetey.

The government is integrating the three revenue agencies, namely Customs and Excise Preventive Service (CEPS), Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Value Added Tax (VAT) Service into the newly created GRA in order to generate more revenue for the country.

Meanwhile, Multi-Donor Budget Support (MDBS) for Ghana's 2010 budget was slashed by US$74 million. Ghana received US$525 million in 2009, but will get only US$451 million this year.

BusinessWeek learnt that the development partners cited assessments for 2009 as the basis for their decision, and have asked the government to account to the taxpayer.

The 11-member body of Ghana’s development partners for the Multi-Donor Budget Support programme is led by the Swiss-Embassy and the World Bank.

However, Business Week can confirm from government circles that the slash by the donor partners will not affect the nation’s development, as the government plans to generate more revenue from the local front.

As a result of this, the government will introduce certain taxes into the economy to help boost the revenue generation for the country.

The possible areas to be affected will include the transport sector, petroleum and salary.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Nestlé Ghana Limited Wins Overall Best Industrial Company Of The Year at 13th AGI Industry & Quality Awards

  Nestlé Ghana Limited has been honored with four prestigious awards at the 13th Association of Ghana Industry and Quality Awards ceremony. The event, held in an esteemed setting, gathered prominent figures from Ghana’s industrial sector. Amidst the anticipation, Nestlé Ghana emerged as one of the evening’s notable winners, securing accolades in several key categories. This recognition underscores Nestlé Ghana’s relentless pursuit of excellence and innovation, marking a significant milestone that highlights the company’s substantial contributions to the manufacturing industry in Ghana. Nestlé Ghana's exceptional performance was acknowledged with the following awards: Overall Best National Quality Award, Diamond Category (Food) Overall Best Practices in Sustainable Manufacturing Best Company (Food Sector) Overall Industrial Company of the Year, affirming its status as a leader not only within the food sector but also across Ghana's entire industrial landscape. This success is a ...

Anglogold Ashanti Obuasi Mine tops 2024 Sustainability & Social Investment Awards

 AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine has confirmed its status as sustainability champions by sweeping nine awards, the most won by a company at the 2024 Sustainability & Social Investment Awards (SSI) held at Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra. The feat comes on the heels of a dominant performance in last year's event where AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine swept seven awards. The SSI Awards organised by Ianmatsun Global Services recognizes the most outstanding sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives in the country and beyond as well as the best teams and individuals who brought them to life. This year's event, which was the 8th edition, was under the theme "Climate Action Now: Accelerating Decarbonization and Building Resilience". The awards won by AngloGold Ashanti on the night include SSI Company of the Year, Best Company in Women Empowerment (project), SSI Company of the Year ( Environment), Best Co...

Zoomlion Advocates Community & Gender inclusive waste management for Climate Action at COP 29

 Africa's waste management giant, Zoomlion Ghana Limited has advocated for an integrated approach to waste management that considers the interest of community members, women and vulnerable groups. James Deku, a Communications Officer of Zoomlion Ghana Limited made this call at the 29th session of the Conference Of Parties (COP 29) of the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) at Azerbaijan, Baku whiles speaking on the topic "Community-Driven and Gender Inclusive approaches to waste management for Climate Action ". He said the waste sector is a major contributor of methane emissions which is a potent greenhouse gas causing climate change hence the need to manage waste in a manner that considers the interest of all stakeholders. Zoomlion's waste management model is designed and operated in a manner that considers the interest of all stakeholders. Through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, local authorities engage community members in clea...