Takoradi: Some residents within the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis of the Western Region have shared varied opinions and expectations ahead of the 2025 budget presentation. Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), in an interview in Takoradi, Madam Olivia Oduro, a Community Health Nurse, said the government must prioritize the overall living condition of Ghanaians. She noted that the budget should be able to help stabilize the inflation rate and improve the living conditions of the average Ghanaian.
According to Ghana News Agency, on health-related issues, Madam Oduro appealed to the government to focus more on the health sector by building more infrastructure and providing incentives that would help health workers to execute their duties more effectively and efficiently. She also charged the government to improve the condition of service for nurses and midwives with incentives like rent and medical allowance to cater to their needs.
Mr. Kenneth Lamptey, a National Service Personnel, appealed to the government to invest more in the education and health sectors, as those areas were paramount in the growth and development of every nation. He prayed that the budget would address the issue of taxation by scrapping taxes like the betting, e-levy, and COVID-19 taxes, to ease the pressure on citizens. He, however, suggested the improvement in tax collection and the widening of the tax net without imposing other new taxes for revenue mobilization.
Mr. Richard Adams, also a National Service Personnel, hoped the government championed the unemployment issue in the country by creating more jobs and employment opportunities for the teeming youth in the country. 'Employment is what we need as youth to improve our living conditions and also contribute to economic and national growth', he said. Mr. Adams entreated the government to invest more in the agricultural sector to steer up the interest of the youth to venture into agricultural businesses to grow the economy.
Mr. Amos Owusu, a teacher, said the budget must be able to address most of the economic challenges faced by the country and indicate a path for economic recovery, while wisely allocating funds to all government sectors to help in the implementation and execution of all government projects to ensure development.
