Parliament Approves Budget For Some Ministries To Implement Programs For 2016 Financial Year


Parliament has approved Six Billion Five hundred and Thirty-Two Million Ghana Cedis for the Ministry of Education to implement its programs and activities for the 2016 financial year. 

The Ministry will among other interventions next year, provide 500 thousand school uniforms and one Million Cedis worth of school sandals to pupils in deprived communities.
 
In pursuance of the Ministry’s policy of zero tolerance for teacher absenteeism the Ministry will also institute measures to strengthen its National School Inspectorate activities. 

These were contained in a report by the Committee on Education presented on the Floor for the endorsement of the Ministry’s budget for 2016. 

The budgets for other Ministries were also approved. 

Radio Ghana’s Parliamentary Correspondents, Dominic Hlordzi and Augustus Acquaye report that the Ministry of Education has about thirteen Department and Agencies which draw resources from the Ministry. 

Even though the Six Billion 2016 budgetary allocation is a little lower than the 2015 allocation, the Ministry is determined according to the sector Minister to undertake programs such as the progressively Free SHS Policy which will cater for about 331 thousand Day Students. 

Professor Naana Jana Opoku-Agyemang stated that the Free SHS will be extended to cover 120 thousand targeted Boarding Students from deprived schools in the 2016/2017 academic year. 

The Education Minister justifies why the Ministry needs the over six billion Ghana Cedis to execute its programs next year.

The House also granted the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources a little above two hundred and ninety-three million Ghana Cedis for the implementation of its programs and payment of compensations while the Chieftaincy and Traditional Affairs Ministry receives 20 million Ghana Cedis for the execution of its programs for the 2016 fiscal year. 

The budgetary estimates for the Youth and Sports, fisheries and Aquaculture Ministries and the allocation for the Office of Government Machinery were also approved. 

The Paper on the Ghana Shipping Maritime Labor Regulations 2015 was also laid.


GBC