General News of Thursday, 16 November 2023

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

This is a significant development - Ablakwa elated about GH¢220m for flood victims in 2024 budget

Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa

The Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has welcomed the news of the government’s decision to allocate GH¢220 million to the victims of the Akosombo Dam-induced floods in the Volta Region.

He explained that out of everything the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, presented in the 2024 budget, the help to be given to his beloved constituents is his best news.

He, however, shared his concerns about the possibility of the relief package being released to facilitate the lives of the flood victims.

“That is a significant development, and I think that in this entire budget, that is the only positive that I would like to highlight. However, I will be cautiously optimistic because there is a world of difference between allocation and actual release. So, the GH¢220 million for the first phase of relief is positive and worth highlighting, and we are looking forward to the second phase, which the finance minister referred to as the restoration phase,” he said on the floor of parliament.

The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, presented the 2024 budget in parliament on Wednesday, November 15, 2023.

During his address, he shared that the “Government has budgeted an amount of GH¢220 million to support the relief phase for the communities affected by the Akosombo spillage as well as floods upstream in the Oti, Savannah, and Bono-East Regions,” Ofori-Atta told Parliament.”

The presentation of the annual budget by the finance minister is a constitutional obligation, performed on behalf of the president to affirm the government's commitment to fiscal transparency and responsibility.



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