PRESS STATEMENT RELEASED BY THE NATIONAL UNION OF GHANA STUDENTS (NUGS) ON THE BUDGET STATEMENT AND ECONOMIC POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT OF GHANA FOR THE 2010 FINANCIAL YEAR, PRESENTED TO PARLIAMENT ON NOVEMBER 18, 2009.
7th May 2010

BACKGROUND

We do generally admit that 2009 is a difficult year due to high fiscal deficit, the harsh impact the global economic crunch and also owing to the significant deviations recorded as at date from the projections in the 2009 budget.

It is also worthy to note that before 2006 government owed 6.3billion, by June 2006 4.2billion dollars were cancelled by our donor partners, out of the 2.1billion left, 1.1 were commercial debt which could not be cancelled. The remaining 1billion was government to government debt which could have being cancelled and was not cancelled, why we are yet to be told.

We saw generally good management of the economy from 2001-2005 based on low government deficit and moderate economic gains. By 2005 the past government had virtually balanced with roughly 300million deficit left.

What happened from 2006 to 2009 is what we seek answers to. Must we always create debt for developed countries to come clean? It is disgraceful for governments to always go a borrowing in order to service debts. We Ghanaian students want to know!

Also contained in this release is our objective view and recommendations on the budget and economic policy.

OUR OBSERVATIONS:

1. EDUCATION

Page 146, note 434. “Progress has been made towards the admission of students from deprived areas, in this regard; tertiary education institutions are to determine appropriate quotas to increase enrolment of students from deprived areas”. Tertiary education institutions to determine appropriate quotas? On what basis or criteria? That cannot be a policy! Certainly not! There must be a clear cut and definite quota to be strictly adhered to by all public tertiary institutions.

Page 146, note 436 and page 313 notes 906, 907. Social programs such as removal of schools under trees, elimination of the shift system, free education for the disabled, construction and furnishing of 165 school buildings, 250 new schools and kindergarten to be built we consider to be heartwarming.

We however want to state that, the problem is not just the elimination of schools under trees or free feeding of students and uniforms. It is on record that most schools without adequate facilities are mainly government owned. Government should not be in a rush to build schools when it cannot provide commensurate facilities such as toilets and safe drinking water. About 55% of public primary and junior high schools do not have good toilets and safe drinking water. No doubt the schools clinics are mainly used to treat typhoid and malaria; which are all poor sanitation related diseases.

Why spend 17million a year on free school uniforms (a project that cannot be sustained) when students cannot have access to modern toilets and water supply. What is the point of feeding people and they have no access to water and toilets? We believe government should concentrate upgrading the existing schools to model schools comparable to that of a 21^st century.

We do also congratulate government on its decision to build two more public universities, however we do believe that the capacity of some the existing ones have being highly underutilized. While some continue to suffer degradation and inability to accommodate its students, we are forced to pay “killer rates” in the name of rents. Students housing should of top priority and guide to the establishment of these new ones to be built.

Some years ago, Ghanaians were told Government intends to expand the telecommunication industry by a credit facility arranged for the then GHANA TELECOM now VODAFONE from ALCATEL SHANGHAI BELL COMPANY LTD. This was to help, we are told to acquire more switches to undertake massive expansion programme throughout the country including the wiring of second cycle schools and colleges to facilitate the deployment of ICT facilities. Ghanaian students and teachers alike wants to know what happened to this project? Was it another campaign promise by politicians never to be realized?

Worthy of note however, is the fact that no mention was made of POLYTECHNIC EDUCATION in the 2010 budget. This we find reticent, since polytechnic education have over the years contributed immensely to the intellectual property of this nation and continue to do.

From the budget, we get the impression that government placed emphasis on the provision of the GETFund to solve the problems at the educational front. This we consider inappropriate noting that, the GETFund was constituted to compliment the efforts government and not become the fulcrum around which everything in education today revolves. The drain on the GETFund is alarming!

Generally, the 2010 budget statement and economic policy on education lacks the cutting edge approach to resolving the fusillade of challenges confronting education and Ghanaian students in the 21^st century. In this 21^st century, it is only appropriate that government formulates policies that are exact and addresses the challenges that have lingered spot on.

2. ENERGY AND PETROLEUM

Page 307, note 885, last sentence “…………studies are also underway to access the impact of re-imposition of taxes on petroleum products on household activities and economic growth”

What studies? At whose cost? Does the government need data to show them what the impact on the ordinary Ghanaian will be like? In opposition we heard what that could do, but now in power some studies must be done.

This is the naked truth, life will become unbearable for the Ghanaian and the likely consequence is a wild guess!

We students would reject any attempt to make life unbearable for the ordinary Ghanaian. We were told then, that the VAT (value added tax) would be the end to all taxes. Then, the “and then game started” credit to MTN.

Worthy of note is the absolute neglect of the West Africa Gas Pipeline Project; a project government spent several millions of dollars. It is as if the tax payers’ money is being wasted. What happened to the project that we were told would create employment for our youth? Has the Jubilee oil fields caused its demise?

3. DEMOGRAHPIC TRANSITION

Many countries that have made significant strides towards achieving middle or developed status have all done so because they have among other policies moved away from many children to a home to small numbers to a home. What is our government doing? How can you be talking about poverty reduction when there is no clear policy on birth control?

The whole of Africa has none, and it is probably the reason we are still wallowing in poverty and growing slams.

4. SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT (GREEN REVOLUTION)

What is government doing to tackle the low research level that exists in the agricultural sector? Our soils are highly depleted and forms part of the Ancient continents, knowing that, over a third of Africa is plain desert. The geological formation is of highly weathered soil.

Africa is the second driest continent apart from Australia.

The budget lacks the focus on weather risks to improve planning for drought and natural disaster. The case of the Sea fast eroding our coastal lines, the drought of the Akosombo dam of 1977, 1983, 1998/1999, 2006/2007 are all signals of the impact of climate change. We have to improve the management of drought and its negative consequences on the environment.

Some years ago, one could not import over ten years aged cars into this country, after sometime, the law was relaxed and now you bring in and you pay the cost. Government should revisit the banning of over ten years cars because we do not have the technology to deal with the waste and its attendant impact on road accidents in the country.

The issues of waste management should also have being highlighted in the budget. Government spends millions of dollors trying to eliminate malaria. The problem is not the treatment and provision of mosquito nets to hospitals and individuals. The fight against malaria can be won if a more pragmatic approach is adopted by way of managing our gutters and the effective management of waste. Aside the help of ZOOMLION, government must invest significantly in the management of solid and liquid waste, which impart positively on our expenditure patterns on health.

5. TAXES

In Government’s ambitious bid to mobilize revenue, the budget seeks to bring untold hardship on the already unbearable living standards of Ghanaians and students being the greatest victims.

Page 307 note 886 “in 2010, the DVLA will introduce the re-registration of vehicles every two (2) years as a means of validating all registered and genuine vehicles” validating what? For free or at the owners expense? Who has invalidated what was validated by the DVLA.

Government should rather concentrate on finding ways of dealing with security threats and not under the pretext of revenue mobilization at the expense of the ordinary Ghanaian and not say, it is due to validation of records and monitoring of security threats.

Do criminals only use cars? We think Government should rather boldly confront and address the proliferation of illegal weapons and not vehicles! The introduction of several other tax elements, we believe is a rather knee-jerk approach to mobilize resources for the nation.

Page 303, note 873 “even though the removal of the import duty was well intended, it did not benefit consumers as expected. The revenues which should have accrued to government for programmes in the budget was enjoyed by few importers. The government, therefore decided to discontinue these measures and revert to the imports duty…..” so government has evidence that it was enjoyed by few importers at our expense and nobody seem to care? That is criminal! When would our laws be found to be working? So because of government’s inability to trace and track down tax evaders, the whole country must get to suffer their inability. Please come again with that excuse! That was rather inadequate to warrant the re-imposition!

Who is addressing the case of leakage and non-compliance of the tax payer? What about those evading tax? Who audits them? What was the impact of taxes introduced earlier in this country? What happened to the flat rate on VAT and the controversial undercover NYEP TALK TAX?

6. AMBITIOUS PROMISES

In 2010, there are few capital intensive projects to be undertaken by government, which will have very direct impact on our revenue base by drain.

They are the AGRIC/POPULATION CENSUS, DISTRICT COUNCIL ELECTIONS and implementation of the SINGLE SPINE PAY STRUCTURE. Wages are normally about 10% of GDP. It is worth noting that, the introduction of the SSPS will cause shift to about 12% of GDP due a substantial increase in wages and salary across board.

This implies that a huge volume of GDP will be consumed as a result of the implementation of the SSPS as wage is expected to increase.

On this backdrop, how can government be talking about onetime premium payment of the NHIS? This might explain the reason for the tax hikes to cover up the shortfalls to be experienced. Why would you collect tax only to spend on things that can be avoided?

The free school uniform is also not sustainable, if not it will come at the direct expense of the tax payer, because a whopping 17million to be spent annually or so is not for this kind of our economy.

7. NATIONAL YOUTH POLICY

We the NATIONAL UNION OF GHANA STUDENTS (NUGS) are disappointed government has not made any attempt to implement the national youth policy.

We want to state that the prominence given to the YOUTH IN AGRICULTURE and the now polished and rehearsed as YOUTH IN MODERN AGRICULTURE (page 71 notes 236) is to us a misdemeanor. While other countries are stressing on the use of technology or mechanization to reduce direct labor, to us in Ghana it is a direct reversal of the equation.

Have we not got enough youth in agriculture already? I believe we lack the machinery and other relevant inputs and not humans. More hands we does not necessarily guarantee greater output. The emphasis should be on use of technology as a means of mechanizing agriculture.

The over emphasis infuriates us. The last time we were told about the same project, it was about spraying cocoa farms, standing and directing vehicular traffic and the new addition of Eco brigade. Is this Nkrumah’s dream of the Ghanaian in the 21^st century? Certainly not!

Why are successive governments hiding under the disguise of provision of employment and the overly politicized review of the national youth policy? Lack of political will, we guess!

8. POLITICAL POLARISATION

We wish to state without equivocation that, the practice by successive governments to present budgets and economic policies have become politically polarized which give course for worry. We wish to remind government that it is a national budget and not an NDC or NPP budget. Statements like “the NDC government seeks to or as part of the NDC manifesto etc.” should not be encouraged so as to foster cohesion and peaceful deliberations.

The gears that characterizes most parliamentary debates are nothing but probably a clear demonstration of apathy and the “do it and let’s see” euphoria. This we the students of Ghana believe is not in our best interest as a nation and future leaders of mother Ghana.

CONCLUSION

Government should endeavor to break the budget and policy document into workable details in order to allow for easy use and implementation.

Long live the NATIONAL UNION OF GHANA STUDENTS (NUGS)

Long live Mother GHANA

“ALUTA CONTINUA, VICTORIA ASCERTA”

SIGNED:

______________________

WONDER MADILO

President

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