By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
Ghana’s Parliament has approved an amount of GH₵ 1, 226,619,067 for the services of the Ministry of Transport for the year 2023.
This comes after the Roads and Transport Committee of Parliament presented its report on the government’s request for the stipulated amount as part of other activities to operationalize the Ghana Airline by the first quarter of the year 2023.
Chairman of the Committee, and Member of Parliament (MP) for Akim Swedru Constituency in the Eastern Region. Mr. Kennedy Osei Nyarko moving the motion for the approval of the 2023 budget estimate for the Transport Ministry urged the House to approve the budget to help the ministry undertake its development activities.
“I want to urge the House to approve the said amount on the motion which is an amount GHS 1, 226,619,067 for the ministry of Transport for the year ending, 31st December 2022, Mr. Speaker I so move.”
The House has also approved an amount of GHS 618,238,687 for the services of the Ministry of Railways Development for the same year.
Debating on the report of the Roads and Transport Committee on the 2023 annual budget estimates of the Ministry, the Minority Leader, Mr. Haruna Iddrisu said the usual budgetary allocations to the Ministry are not adequate enough to improve the railway sector hence the need for the government to make allocations to the sector from the Petroleum Fund annually.
“…to ensure that adequate resources are allocated for railway in the country in order for us to improve the general transportation of persons and in particular goods in the country, this annual amount that parliament approves every year, this house should take a position and allocate US$ 200 million for the next five years for anybody wanting to come and do railway.
“So, we know that every year, US$ 200 million of our AGF is used to invest in durable infrastructure other than using it for consumption purposes. We cannot be using returns from our oil resources for consumption-related expenditure. So, it is my view that, if the government is prioritizing the Petroleum Revenue Management Act, monies spent on the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) should be prioritized for railway development’, he reiterated.
