Government will implement programmes within first term- Terkper

Accra, March 5, GNA - Mr Seth Terkper, Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, has said government would use its first term of office to implement programmes that consolidate the fledgling middle-income status and extend its benefits to current and future generations.

He said already the country is on track to consolidate its Lower Middle Income Country status.

Mr Terkper said this hen he presented the 2013 budget statement to parliament in Accra on the theme: 'Sustaining Confidence in the Future of the Ghanaian Economy', in Accra on Tuesday.

He said as a nation that was determined to learn from its own history, with respect to natural resource management, the country had passed the Petroleum Revenue Management Act to direct the use of identifiable oil and gas revenues.

The Finance Minister said over the past three years the government had strenuously sought and secured considerable foreign grants and loans, to rebuild worn out roads and construct new ones, construct classrooms, teacher's accommodations and other much needed educational facilities in addition to building hospitals and clinics.

He said, a considerable proportion of the secured foreign loans remained in the disbursement pipeline; a situation that frustrated the process of closing the infrastructure gap.

Mr Terkper said the structural challenges that faced the nation required very decisive initiatives with their attendant huge financial implications.

He said the initiatives had been driven mainly by Government in spite of the huge potential of the private sector.

'It is therefore Government policy that the next phase of the transformation process must involve the private sector,' he added.

He said the Ministry of Finance would initiate a major review of the nation's tax and investment promotion laws to be tabled to parliament.

He noted that government would accelerate targeted investment in several sectors of the economy to cater for the public goods that facilitated private sector activities such as marketing and exportation.

Mr Terkper said the Ministry of Finance would lead a comprehensive review of services and charges at strategic public sector, trade and investment locations such as the airport, harbours and other entry points to ease business and reduce burdens on importers.

He said government would take seriously, the suggestion to implement periodic upward or downward adjustments to avoid severe disruptions to public and private sector output and financial planning.

GNA