Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson
The Government has allocated about GH¢44.17 billion in the 2025 budget to support various national initiatives, focusing on social protection, infrastructure, education, agriculture, and economic development.
Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, who announced the allocations during the 2025 budget presentation in Parliament yesterday, emphasised the government’s commitment to economic recovery, social welfare, and structural reforms.
Major Allocations
A significant portion of the budget has been directed toward social protection programmes to alleviate economic hardships and improve livelihoods.
The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has been allocated GH¢9.93 billion, while the School Feeding Programme has received GH¢1.788 billion, marking a 33% increase in the cost of feeding per pupil per day.
The Finance Minister revealed that the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) Programme will also see a budget increase, with its allocation rising by 30.8% to GH¢953.5 million, expanding the number of beneficiary households from 350,000 to 400,000 by July 2025.
Additionally, he said the Capitation Grant has been increased from GH¢84 million in 2024 to GH¢145.5 million in 2025, representing a 73.2% rise.
Education and Skills Development
Dr. Forson said the government had allocated GH¢3.5 billion for the Free Secondary Education Programme, with an additional GH¢4.1 billion made available through the uncapping of the GETFund to fully finance free SHS education.
To enhance access to learning materials, the minister said GH¢564.6 million has been earmarked for the provision of free curricula-based textbooks for kindergarten, primary, and junior high school students.
Furthermore, he stated that GH¢499.8 million has been set aside for the No-Academic-Fee policy to support first-year students in public tertiary institutions under the “No-Fees-Stress” initiative.
In support of student welfare, the budget includes GH¢292.4 million for the distribution of free sanitary pads to female students, GH¢203 million for Teacher Trainee Allowances, and GH¢480 million for Nursing Trainee Allowances.
Infrastructure and Economic Growth
The Finance Minister said the Ghana Road Fund has been allocated GH¢2.81 billion for road maintenance, reflecting a 155.5% increase over the previous year’s allocation.
Additionally, he disclosed that GH¢7.51 billion had been directed to the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF), with at least 80% of the funds set to go directly to district assemblies to promote local development.
To bolster agricultural productivity, Dr. Forson said GH¢1.5 billion has been designated for the Agriculture for Economic Transformation Agenda (AETA), supporting initiatives such as the Feed Ghana Programme, Ghana Grains Development Project, and Vegetable Development Project.
According to him, in line with the government’s commitment to empowering women, GH¢51.3 million has been allocated as a seed fund for the establishment of the Women’s Development Bank.
Additionally, GH¢300 million has been dedicated to the National Apprenticeship Programme to equip young people with vocational skills, the minister disclosed.
Relief for Disaster Victims
The Finance Minister said the government had earmarked GH¢242.5 million to support victims of the Akosombo Dam spillage and GH¢200 million to assist residents affected by tidal wave disasters in the Ketu South Constituency.
Strengthening Local Governance
As part of efforts to support local governance, Dr. Forson revealed that GH¢100 million has been allocated for the monthly allowances of Assembly Members.
“Mr. Speaker, an amount of GH¢100 million has been allocated for the payment of monthly allowance to all Assembly Members,” he stated during the budget presentation to Parliament yesterday.
According to him, the government has also earmarked GH¢100 million each for the National Coders Programme and the ‘Adwumawura’ Programme, reinforcing its focus on digital transformation and job creation.