2020 Budget: Government to pursue accelerated infrastructural development
Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, the Minister of Finance has announced that the government will in 2020 pursue an accelerated infrastructural development programme as part of efforts to boost the nation’s socioeconomic development.
He said infrastructural development was a long-term commitment which required long-term financing.
“We will aggressively pursue blended financing arrangements, leveraging funds from various sources including; our development partners, philanthropists and private sector actors to finance mega infrastructure projects,” Mr OforiAtta stated on Wednesday in his presentation of the Nation’s 2020 Budget Statement to Parliament.
The presentation of the Financial Policy of the Government for the year ending 31st December 2020, to Parliament is in fulfilment of Article 179 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, and Section 21(3) of the Public Financial Management (PFM) Act 2016 (ACT 921).
Mr Ofori-Atta noted that some of the mega infrastructural projects to be executed in 2020 would include; such seaport and airport to position Ghana as a regional logistics hub.
Others are road network in the country, metro and light rail transit systems in Accra and Kumasi.
The Minister said over the last 30 years, the world witnessed the breath taking rise of sovereign wealth funds in Asia and Middle East and their contributions to national development; stating that “Ghana has a unique opportunity, with the expected increase in oil production to reap rewards from its endowment of natural resources”.
“A well- capitalised, actively managed savings funds, like Ghana Petroleum Funds (GPFs) and Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) are instruments to support.”
With regards to science and technology development, Mr Ofori-Atta said the foundation for industrialisation was science and technology and technological capability was the differentiator between developed and undeveloped countries.
“Government has therefore resolved that we must complement our advances in human capital in the education sector with a focused push to develop our national technological capability,” he said.
He noted that towards this objective, the Government, through the Ministry of Science, Environment, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) would establish the Ghana Design and Manufacturing Centre (GDMC).
He explained that GDMC would be a centre of excellence in design, manufacturing and technology commercialization.
“GDMC will be a place for Design-for-Manufacturing and Assembly, and for manufacturing skills. The Centre will also facilitate the incubation of new technological industries and serve as a resource for national research institutions and private industry.”
Source: GNA