By Elizabeth PUNSU
The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) has expressed worry over government’s failure to allocate funds toward industrilisation priority area for 2024.
According to the semi-annual report for 2024, the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) is petroleum revenue approved by Parliament for spending in the national budget in a financial year. The distribution and utilisation of the ABFA is regulated by the provisions of Act 815. 6.2 Allocation of Budgeted Annual Budget Funding Amount.
According to the 2024 Budget Statement, projected ABFA for 2024 is US$575.36million (GH₵8,036,398,622). This amount, according to PIAC, was to be divided into four quarters and allocated to the Priority Areas and PIAC as approved by Parliament.
The projected ABFA to the Priority Areas and PIAC for 2024, approved by Parliament, was allocated to the Priority Areas and PIAC in H1 2024.
However, in an interview with journalists after an open forum for chiefs, opinion leaders and community members at Ejisu in Ashanti Region to discuss details of the Semi-Annual Report, Technical Advisor on the PIAC, Richard Elimah, stated that there was no budgetary allocation to the industrialisation priority area for 2024.
“We also have a situation where government has not spent anything on the industrialisation priority area and that is curios because industrialisation is a key priority, one of the four priority areas selected by the government. We expect government to actualise priority by channelling resources to the industrialisation sector. In the period when we did the report – that is from January to June, no penny had been spent on industrialisation; and that is also a source of concern,” Mr. Elimah reiterated.
He noted that this trend is not new, as the 2023 report also highlighted a steady decline in the percentage of funds allocated to industrialisation.
He further indicated that in their engagement with government, they are told that industrialisation received some funding from other resources not necessarily petroleum revenues.
“Even if the sector is receiving other sources of funding, we still insist that government should actualise its own to ensure policy works,” he said.
Mr. Elimah underscored the economic significance of industrialisation, highlighting its potential to transform the economy, create jobs and boost government revenue.
“If we can industrialise the economy, it would benefit everyone. The economy would grow, jobs would be created and government revenue would increase. Therefore, it is essential for the government to channel a significant portion of petroleum revenue into industrialisation, especially when lack of funding is a major barrier to progress,” he said.
