Accra, Monday November 22, 2021 - Hon. John Ampontuah Kumah, a Deputy Minister of Finance has charged the Institute of Financial and Economic Journalists (IFEJ) and the Parliamentary Press Corps to use their media to sensitize the public on the 2022 Annual Budget under the theme: “Sustaining an entrepreneurial nation through fiscal consolidation and job creation.”
“The 2022 Budget is important especially the communication of measures contained in it, so your role is very critical in explaining the numerous policies and measures that are in the budget” Hon. Kumah noted.
He said this when he addressed 98 members of IFEJ and the Parliamentary Press Corps during a webinar on the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy.
Each year, as part of its broader goal to sensitize key stakeholders and to galvanize public support, the Ministry of Finance engages the media on key aspects of the Budget Statement and Economic Policy, such as the macro fiscal, sectoral performance and outlook, policy initiatives, and projections for the coming year etc.
The Deputy Minister took time to clarify some of the government's financial initiatives, such as the E-levy and the reduction and elimination of some taxes and policies.
According to the Hon Kumah, who is also the Member of Parliament for Ejisu Constituency, before the introduction of the E-levy, about 10,000 Ghanaians were surveyed and the results showed that about 40% of Mobile Money users did not transfer more than GHC100 a day.
This, he explained, meant that not all mobile money transactions will be subjected to the E-levy. Individuals who received or withdrew money from their Mobile Money "Momo" wallet and those who transfer money from their Momo wallet to their bank accounts under the interoperability were exempted from the levy.
“No matter the amount you send, the first GHC100 will not be affected by the E-levy which is 1.75%” he stressed.
On what the nation stood to gain from the E-levy, he stated that, unlike the road toll that generated about GHC78million a year, the E-levy was expected to generate GHC6.9 billion in 2022 which would give Government enough fiscal space to pay road contractors anytime they submitted their certificates.
On the road toll which had been removed, he said all the workers had been maintained and would be reassigned to different jobs by the Ghana Highways Authority.
Government, Hon Kumah revealed, had set aside about GHC10 billion for training and capacity building for the youth for the next three years starting from 2022 as part of measures create jobs.
The Youstart initiative, for example, will create one million jobs with a seed capital of GHS1 billion. It would be driven by the existing government structures like the Ghana Enterprise Agency, National Entrepreneurship, and Innovation Plan (NEIP) and participating banks, as well as the various Universities where government would create endowment fund to make it possible for students to apply for working capital while they were still on campus.
He explained that the project would assist them in becoming more creative and innovative, allowing them to start their own enterprises. Existing SMEs and other enterprises could also apply for this funding arrangement to help them grow their operations.
“Government needs you to help communicate this ‘Agyenkwa budget’ to Ghanaians” he concluded. END