The Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has confidently announced that the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is projected to hit GHC1 trillion, or dollar equivalent of $83.6 billion next year.
The figure is an upward adjustment of Ghana’s GDP of GH¢219.5 billion recorded in 2016 or the dollar equivalent at the time of $56.16bn. This means between 2016 and 2024, our GDP has grown by a staggering $27 billion.
Ken Ofori-Atta made the announcement in Parliament yesterday when he presented the 2024 financial statement and economic policy on behalf of President Akufo-Addo
“Mr Speaker, the 2024 Budget is even more significant because we will cross the GH¢1 trillion Gross Domestic Product mark for the first time in our economic history.
“Let me repeat, Mr. Speaker, Ghana’s economy under President Akufo-Addo’s final year in office is projected to be valued over GH¢1 trillion in 2024 from the GH¢219.5 billion in 2016,” he told Parliament.
The presentation of the Budget by Mr Ken Ofori-Atta is in accordance with Article 179 of the 1992 Constitution and Section 21 (3) of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016, (Act 921).
SOCIAL INVESTMENT
The 2024 budget is the final annual fiscal policy for the Akufo-Addo government as it is existing office in 2025. However, next year, it will present a budget for the first quarter of 2025, as it is an election year.
Ken Ofori-Atta, reading the budget yesterday, outlined the investment the government had made since assuming office in 2017.
According to him, “We have worked hard and invested significant resources. And being sure of this knowledge, I can confidently assert that over the past 7 years: Every sector has been positively impacted. Every household has been positively impacted by our social intervention programmes. And every region has also been positively impacted.”
He mentioned that President Akufo-Addo has deepened decentralised development by investing GH¢422.1 million to create and resource six new administrative regions.
The government, he said, has improved access to quality Senior High School education for about 5.7 million Ghanaians by investing GH¢8.4 billion in the future of our next generation.
Ofori-Atta said the government has increased enrolment and learning outcomes of 3.8 million pupils by investing GH¢3.6 billion in the School Feeding Programmes.
An amount of GH¢248.5 million has been invested as capitation grants to supported foundational education of over 6 million pupils.
The government is said to have improved the quality of life of about 350,000 Ghanaian households under the LEAP by investing GH¢1.2 billion, all these, as social mobility investment.
PIRVATE SECTOR INVESTMENT
The Minister for Finance also listed the investment the Akufo-Addo government has made to boost the capacity of the private sector since 2017to expand productivity and create jobs.
The government, he said, has invested GH¢32.7 billion to keep the lights on and support the growth of businesses.
He also said that in the last seven years, GH¢25.3 billion invested to facilitate the repositioning of the financial sector and enhance its ability to assist business operations.
According to the minister, the Development Bank Ghana, has facilitated GH¢1 billion in competitive financing for the private sector.
The government has also supported 100,000 young graduates to secure workplace experience and employment by investing GH¢2.4 billion in NABCO; invested GH¢7.1 billion to build road and transport infrastructure to improve connectivity and productivity.
Further, GH¢541.5 million has been invested in 169 1D1F enterprises to scale-up valueaddition and provided 140,000 additional jobs.
Ken Ofori-Atta said the government has “created over 2.3 million jobs in the private and public sectors (approximately 900,000 in the private sector and 1.4 million in the public sector).”
