The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has said that the 2022 Budget Statement and Financial Policy to be presented by the Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta in Parliament tomorrow, November 12, 2021 is one that will give hope to all Ghanaians. The party indicated that 2022 Budget will proffer unlimited opportunities to young people who are interested in starting and growing their own businesses. The move is expected to address the huge unemployment deficit in the country.
The Deputy Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Upper East Region, Johnson Ayine speaking on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East Show, said the budget will expand resources allocated to the ‘Youth Bank’ policy, as birthed by the 2021 Mid-year budget, and create a conducive environment for young people to grow in the area of business.
“From the mid-year up until this year, we have been able to better set up the policy to be implemented. For the youth in entrepreneurship, all of us should be ready. That is the way forward. When the Finance Minister talked of the public sector being choked, people were thinking government was going to ice public hiring, no. The fact is that we have to think of the Ghanaian youth. Look at the numbers that are graduating every year from our government institutions. If everyone is going to sit down and wait for government employment, it would not come.”
“COVID-19 has forced us to reposition and think about our [NPP’s] main ideology of the economy which is private sector driven. We are however also doing more social policies,” he explained.
Mr. Ayine admitted the challenges in the supply of farm inputs, like fertilizers, and said government had learnt its lessons and would through the budget show it is ready to pre-empt and address the concerns of the programme. He was insistent the government would further its successes while looking to address all the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, a Communication team member of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Upper East Region, John Paul Danka said while the NPP may have bitten more than it can chew in managing the economy.
He said Ghanaians are looking forward to a budget that will stimulate the economy particularly looking at recovery after COVID-19. He said focusing on the private sector will be a step in the right direction. He encouraged government to focus on other ancillary factors that will support government’s investment in the private sector.
A1Radioonline.com|101.1MHz| Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
