<<Print>>

Parliament has approved Four Billion, Four hundred and Twelve Million, Six Hundred and Ninety-Five Thousand Ghana Cedis for the Ministry of Education to implement its programmes and activities this year. The Education Sector is the biggest beneficiary of the 2013 budget estimates with 53-point-seven percent increase over last year�s allocation. Presenting the Report on the budgetary estimates for the Ministry on the Floor of the House today, the Chairman of the Education Committee, Mathias Puozaa said the Ministry requested over Six Billion but has been allocated only Four Billion creating a shortfall of over Two Billion. This he noted will impact negatively on the programmes and activities of the Ministry. The estimates for Government Machinery and other Institutions have also been approved. Radio Ghana�s Correspondents, in the House Dominic Hlordzi and Augustus Acquaye in their report that notwithstanding, the shortfall in the allocation to the Ministry of Education, the Chairman of the Education Committee in Parliament, Mathias Puozaa said the Ministry will continue to focus on increasing equitable access to education, increase quality of teaching and learning and improve management of education in the country. Out of the figure for education, a little over One Hundred and Forty-Six Thousand Ghana Cedis has been provided for the programmes and activities of the National Services Scheme. Contributing to the debate for the approval of Three Hundred and Twelve Million, Three Hundred and Forty-Five Thousand Ghana Cedis for the running of Government Machinery, the Ranking Member on Finance, Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei identified some discrepancies in the 2012 expenditure of the Savanna Accelerated Development Authority, SADA.He wondered why about 15 million Ghana Cedis was spent on a Guinea Fowl Project. The Member for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin added his voice to the Guinea Fowl debate and this brought the Majority Chief Whip, Mohammed Mubarak-Muntaka and the Deputy Minority Leader, Dominic Nitiwul on their feet. The Minority members who participated in the debate questioned the excess expenditure of the institutions and agencies under the Presidency. The Chairman of the Finance Committee, James Avedzi noted that most agencies under the Government Machinery do not have any direct ministerial supervision. This situation, he observed is making accountability and Parliamentary oversight duties difficult. To ensure proper accountability and effective oversight over such agencies, Mr. Avedzi recommended to the Office of the President to consider realigning some of the agencies to appropriate ministries. The estimates for Government Machinery cover about sixteen agencies which include the Ghana AIDS Commission, National Identification Authority and the Office of the National Security. The Ministry of Justice has been allocated Twenty-Six Million, Eight Hundred and Ninety -Eight Thousand 412 Ghana cedis, while twenty-one million two hundred and twenty-eight thousand seven hundred and seven