Director of the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) has tasked government to invest more in agriculture, just as is being done for the field of education. He believes that making investments in the productive sectors of the economy will shield the nation from external economic shocks.
According to him, the estimated spending in the 2023 budget indicates a considerable disparity between both sectors, with Education planned to spend 18 billion, Agriculture projected to spend 2.51 billion, and Trade and Industry projected to spend 0.587 billion.
There’s a need to review the flagship projects and realign expenditures for 2023. Why the huge disparity in spending? Why are we putting so much in education, and not in not so much in the critical or the productive sectors of the economy? We also ought to put some money into Agric rather spending everything on education, he said.
He was speaking at the ISSER Review of the 2023 Budget Statement at the University of Ghana. Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, presented the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana for the 2023 Financial Year to Parliament on November 24, 2022, under the theme “Restoring and Sustaining Macroeconomic Stability and Resilience through Inclusive Growth & Value Addition”.
Education is very key to National development, an educated populace is better than an uneducated one, so we support it, but what we don’t support is its implementation which we think needs some reworking. We still face infrastructure problems, food shortages also remain, and that calls for the need to review the Free SHS, Prof. Quartey added.
Story Written By: Afua Adwubi Wiafe Akenteng
