2014 Budget silent on employment, inflation – TUC
The Trades Union Congress (TUC), has stated that the 2014 Budget and Economic Policies had followed in the tradition of telling Ghanaians about economic growth as measured by Gross Domestic Product.
It noted that the budget was however silent on employment and inflation and other macro-economic indices.
A statement signed by Mr Kofi Asamoah, Secretary General of the TUC and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra said, Government has once again confirmed to Ghanaians that when it comes to employment it is a matter for manifestoes and not a serious macro-economic issue for consideration.
The statement said the inflation targeting objective remains against the background that the most pressing issue for Ghanaians is to educate their children at a great cost and gain productive employment that would deliver fair incomes.
It said over the years, the TUC engagements on Budget and Economic Policy Formulation called for a change in the way economic policy is conducted in Ghana over the last 30 years which specifically called for a break from the neo-liberal overemphasis on price stability.
The statement suggested an alternative approach of employment targeting economic policy and welcomes the choice of four priority sectors on which oil and gas revenues are to be spent for the next three years in line with the Petroleum Revenue Management Law (Act 815).
It said the budget maintained a loud silence about how Ghanaians have fared in terms of the previous four priority sectors on how petroleum revenues had been spent since 2011.
The statement said the TUC expected Government to tell Ghanaians the status of the road projects on which huge sums of petroleum revenues were applied.
It said over the last three years, the performance on agricultural modernisation does not reflect the huge resources that have been pumped into the modernisation from the oil revenues.
The statement called for proper accounting for past revenues that have been spent from oil to prevent the squandering of huge sums of funds.
The TUC in the statement welcomed the proposals on public sector wages in the 2014 budget to enhance the implementation of the Single Spine Pay Policy.
It said the TUC and its affiliates in the public sector are willing and prepared to support government and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), but are much concerned with the continued delays in the review of allowances.
The statement said contrary to what happened this year, the TUC call on government and the FWSC and other social partners to ensure that negotiations on public sector base pay and the national minimum wage are concluded on time.
It noted that cases of public sector pay will forestall the accumulation of huge arrears and the challenges associated with them.
The statement said, in the last five years, annual Budgets and Economic Policies have contained proposals for the completion of exiting and construction of new affordable housing project.
It however said governments’ commitments to affordable housing appears to be a rhetoric as nothing concrete appears to be done to address the housing deficits in the country.
The TUC called on government to implement the proposals on affordable housing contained in the 2014 Budget Statement and Economic Policy.
It said budget proposals have been most hampered by poor implementation and the execution rate has been low and large-scale inefficiencies often undermine performance.
The statement urged government to demonstrate commitment to the implementation of the budget by releasing resources to the appropriate agencies on time.
It said in the TUC would in due course come out with a comprehensive report on its views on the 2014 budget and economic policy statement.
Source: GNA