By Kofi Ahovi
The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, would this Thursday November 18, 2010 present to parliament the budget statement and economic policy of the government for the fiscal year 2011.
The presentation of the budget statement to parliament before its implementation year was started in the previous government and has since been successive.
The budget is expected to provide detailed implementation strategies on how the government plans to migrate all public workers into the Single Spine Salary Structure as well as the total cost to the nation and the deadline for implementation.
So far, the Fair Wages and Salary Commission had completed the migration of about 20 Public Service institutions onto the SSSS. These include the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Prisons Service, Ghana Immigration Service, Ghana Fire Service, National Commission for Civic Education, Ghana Co-operatives Council, State Enterprises Commission, and West Africa Examinations Council.
Also expected to be addressed in the budget is government’s plans for the oil find which first commercial production is expected in December this year. The budget would also focus on facilitating infrastructural development in the oil and gas sector to ensue the smooth execution of oil related projects. The budge 2011 plans to facilitate the establishment of gas gathering and processing infrastructure to ensure optimization of natural gas resources not only from the Jubilee field, but also from other fields in the Tano/Cape Three Points Basin; establishment of a framework for ensuring transparency and accountability in relation to oil and gas revenues, and compliance with the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) principles.
BusinessWeek learnt that a national Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) programme would be developed to ensure improved nationwide availability of LPG at reasonable prices to reduce reliance on fuel wood. Bulk Oil Storage depots would be expanded for security of petroleum products. The rural Kerosene Distribution Improvement Project is expected to be continued and enhanced.
Ghana needs huge infrastructural investment, especially in providing quality roads and a total transport system that would, seamlessly, connect the people in the country.
In 2011, real non-oil Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to grow at 6.5%. However, with the expected benefit from the start of oil production and its related linkages and activities, real overall GDP growth is projected to surge to over 20%.
The current account deficit is expected to decline to 8% of GDP, and international reserve cover is projected to rise to the equivalent of over three months of import of goods and services.
The budget would also focus on water provision for deprived areas, education, which involves the relocation of schools under trees, and the completion of selected ongoing projects in the road and mining sectors
Government plans to make the 2011 budget a growth oriented social intervention programmes a priority. This is aimed at improving the lives of the citizenry and ensuring the development of an exciting business environment.
Recently Ghana scored 54 points out of a total budget transparency rating score on a 100-point scale in the 2010 Open Budget Survey (OBS), earning the country a grade "C" criteria, the highest ranking in West Africa.
The OBS which is an initiative of the International Budget Partnership (IBP) and produced bi-annually uses internationally recognized criteria to give each country a transparency score on a 100-point scale called the Open Budget Index (OBI).
The Survey report which is also being launched in 94 countries worldwide indicates that on the global front, 74 out of 94 countries assessed failed to meet basic standards of transparency and accountability when it comes to their national budgets, with the worst performers including China, Saudi Arabia, Equatorial Guinea, Senegal and newly Democratic Iraq, a situation which is found to be in sharp contrast in respect to their national incomes.
The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, would this Thursday November 18, 2010 present to parliament the budget statement and economic policy of the government for the fiscal year 2011.
The presentation of the budget statement to parliament before its implementation year was started in the previous government and has since been successive.
The budget is expected to provide detailed implementation strategies on how the government plans to migrate all public workers into the Single Spine Salary Structure as well as the total cost to the nation and the deadline for implementation.
So far, the Fair Wages and Salary Commission had completed the migration of about 20 Public Service institutions onto the SSSS. These include the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Prisons Service, Ghana Immigration Service, Ghana Fire Service, National Commission for Civic Education, Ghana Co-operatives Council, State Enterprises Commission, and West Africa Examinations Council.
Also expected to be addressed in the budget is government’s plans for the oil find which first commercial production is expected in December this year. The budget would also focus on facilitating infrastructural development in the oil and gas sector to ensue the smooth execution of oil related projects. The budge 2011 plans to facilitate the establishment of gas gathering and processing infrastructure to ensure optimization of natural gas resources not only from the Jubilee field, but also from other fields in the Tano/Cape Three Points Basin; establishment of a framework for ensuring transparency and accountability in relation to oil and gas revenues, and compliance with the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) principles.
BusinessWeek learnt that a national Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) programme would be developed to ensure improved nationwide availability of LPG at reasonable prices to reduce reliance on fuel wood. Bulk Oil Storage depots would be expanded for security of petroleum products. The rural Kerosene Distribution Improvement Project is expected to be continued and enhanced.
Ghana needs huge infrastructural investment, especially in providing quality roads and a total transport system that would, seamlessly, connect the people in the country.
In 2011, real non-oil Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to grow at 6.5%. However, with the expected benefit from the start of oil production and its related linkages and activities, real overall GDP growth is projected to surge to over 20%.
The current account deficit is expected to decline to 8% of GDP, and international reserve cover is projected to rise to the equivalent of over three months of import of goods and services.
The budget would also focus on water provision for deprived areas, education, which involves the relocation of schools under trees, and the completion of selected ongoing projects in the road and mining sectors
Government plans to make the 2011 budget a growth oriented social intervention programmes a priority. This is aimed at improving the lives of the citizenry and ensuring the development of an exciting business environment.
Recently Ghana scored 54 points out of a total budget transparency rating score on a 100-point scale in the 2010 Open Budget Survey (OBS), earning the country a grade "C" criteria, the highest ranking in West Africa.
The OBS which is an initiative of the International Budget Partnership (IBP) and produced bi-annually uses internationally recognized criteria to give each country a transparency score on a 100-point scale called the Open Budget Index (OBI).
The Survey report which is also being launched in 94 countries worldwide indicates that on the global front, 74 out of 94 countries assessed failed to meet basic standards of transparency and accountability when it comes to their national budgets, with the worst performers including China, Saudi Arabia, Equatorial Guinea, Senegal and newly Democratic Iraq, a situation which is found to be in sharp contrast in respect to their national incomes.
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