Ken Ofori Atta – Finance Minister
The Minister of Finance will present the mid-year review of the 2017 Budget and Financial Policy of the government in Parliament today, as the House rises for its long recess on Wednesday.
It is expected that some fiscal targets would be reviewed by the minister in view of the major shifts in the prices of some major export products.
He would also be telling parliamentarians whether the set targets of the 2017 Budget and Financial Policy were all met or not.
Meanwhile, the majority leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has appealed to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to present its syndicated loan that would be used to purchase cocoa in the new cocoa season as early as possible to Parliament for approval before the House rises on Wednesday.
According to him, Parliament will be reconvening in the last week of October, this year when it rises on Wednesday and if the management of COCOBOD fails to present the syndicated loan to parliament for the purchase of cocoa beans before it rises on Wednesday, it would seriously jeopardise its programme for the purchase of cocoa beans for the next crop season which begins in September, this year.
The majority leader made the appeal when the CEO, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, top management officials of COCOBOD and some members of the board, led by the board chairman, Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, paid a courtesy call on the leadership of Parliament on Friday to seek their support in ensuring that the transformational agenda of the new management to increase cocoa production in the country is attained.
The CEO said that the new management would work closely with Parliament to ensure that all targets set up by the new management are met.
The Majority Leader told the CEO and his lieutenants to ensure that cocoa farmers benefit from their toil by giving them good prices and also providing them with good roads in the cocoa growing areas to lessen their plight.
By Thomas Fosu Jnr