Latest information picked up by Joy Business indicates the government is hoping to achieve double digit growth in next year’s budget, fueled largely by the oil and gas sector as the main driver of this growth. The highest growth rate recorded in recent times has been the 8.4 percent realized in 2008 as per the rebased GDP. The 2011 growth is however expected to be in the upwards of 12 percent. The government is however not banking all its hopes on the oil and gas sector though, as it is expecting the other sectors to contribute substantially as well. Joy Business’ George Wiafe has found out that although the government is counting on the sector for growth, it is expecting less than 10 percent of its revenue from the sector. Meanwhile, contrary to the initial expectations that some new taxes will be introduced to shore up tax revenue because of the shortcomings exposed by recent rebasing of the GDP, the government is rather looking at expanding the tax net. It is also looking at some reforms to capture as many of the prospective tax payers as possible. There would also be a shift from recurrent expenditure to investment in infrastructural development and the productive sectors. Source: Joy Business/Ghana