Accra: The Government has unveiled a series of initiatives in the 2025 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, aimed at resetting the economy, creating jobs, and ensuring prosperity for Ghanaians across various sectors. Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, the finance minister, presented the Government's first budget to the Ninth Parliament on Tuesday.
According to Ghana News Agency, key among the reliefs captured in the Budget was the abolition of some taxes that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) had described as 'regressive' and had assured they would scrap. The taxes to be abolished, as announced by Dr. Forson, include the COVID-19 Levy, the 10 percent tax on bet winnings, the 1 percent E-Levy, Emission Levy, VAT on motor vehicle insurance policy, and the 1.5 percent withholding tax on the winnings of unprocessed gold by small-scale miners.
The Government has also announced the allocation of GHS100 million for the payment of allowances to Assembly Members. Additionally, the Government plans to implement one of its flagship programmes, dubbed the 'Big Push' policy, for strategic infrastructural development and to drive sustainable economic growth under the 24-Hour Economic Policy. Dr. Forson stated that an amount of GHS13.85 billion had been allocated for the implementation of the Big Push Programme.
In fulfilment of the Government's promise to equip the youth with employable skills, the finance minister said that an amount of GHS300 million had been allocated to the National Apprenticeship Programme, GHS100 million to the 'Adwumawura' Programme, and GHS100 million for the National Coders Programme. Under education, the Government announced a dedicated source of funding for the Free Senior High School Programme and the provision of free tertiary education for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) by uncapping the GETFund.
The Government also announced the allocation of GHS499.8 million for the No-Academic-Fee policy for all first-year students in public tertiary institutions under the 'No-Fees-Stress' initiative. Among the social intervention promises captured in the budget was the allocation of GHS292.4 million to commence the distribution of free sanitary pads to female students in primary and secondary schools.
The Government also announced an allocation of GHS242.5 million to support victims of the Akosombo dam spillage, as well as an amount of GHS200 million to support the victims of the tidal wave disaster that recently displaced residents of Agavedzi and surrounding communities in the Ketu South constituency. Other social intervention initiatives include an increase in the budgetary allocation to the School Feeding Programme from GHS1.344 billion to GHS1.788 billion to reflect an increase in the feeding cost per meal per child per day from GHS1.50 to GHS2.00.
The Government announced the allocation of GHS203 million for the payment of Teacher Trainee allowances and another GHS480 million for Nursing Trainee allowances.
