Long-term dam spillage relief to be factored into 2024 budget – Ofori-Atta

The 2024 budget would take long-term relief measures for the victims of the Akosombo Dam spillage into account, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has revealed.

Mr. Ofori-Atta said this when he led a delegation from the Ministry of Finance on Friday, October 27, 2023, to commiserate with some communities affected by the Akomsombo dam spillage.

He stated that while the government has provided some victims with relief supplies, it will carry out additional work and factor them into the budget for the following year.

“We have mobilised a few things that we would like to share, but I think we are also in the budget season, and therefore it will not just be numbers that we are working on but true feelings in the field, and therefore the need to look at these social interventions in a real way. We will certainly give this an expression immediately and also in the budget,” he stated.

He also made a cash donation of GHC 2 million on behalf of the ministry.

The government has been constrained in its spending as part of the IMF arrangements. It is currently awaiting executive board approval for the next $600 million installment of the $3 billion bailout package.

Last week, Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah announced, after a three-day cabinet retreat, that the government is committed to spending effectively in 2024 despite being an election year.