Right Honourable Speaker, Honourable Members of Parliament, on the authority of H.E. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, I beg to move that this august House approves the Financial Policy of the Government of Ghana for the year ending 31st December, 2022. 

On the authority of H.E. the President, and in accordance with Articles 179 and 180 of the 1992 Constitution, I present to this House, the Budget of The President of the Republic of Ghana for the 2022 Financial Year. 

I also submit to this House the following statutory reports: 

i. the 2021 Annual Report on the Petroleum Funds, in accordance with Section 

48 of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act, 2011 (Act 815), (as amended) and 

ii. the 2021 Report on the Utilization of the African Union Levies in accordance with Section 7 of the African Union Import Levies Act, 2017 (Act 952). 

Mr. Speaker, this statement is an abridged version of the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana for the 2022 Financial Year. I, therefore, request that the entire Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana for the 2022 Financial Year be captured in the Hansard. 

Mr. Speaker, exactly 1 year, 8 months and 5 days today, Ghana confirmed its first case of COVID-19. Since then, efforts to contain the virus and its impact on our lives have dominated the actions of government – not only here in Ghana, but across the globe. The Covid-19 pandemic, which has swept through the world, has upended, and exposed, the weaknesses in some of the critical structures and systems in education, health, economic life, communities and everyday family life. 

The pandemic triggered a sharp and heavy slump in global supply chains as the lockdowns and restrictions led to reductions in demand and production levels. The pick-up in demand for goods this year has also created a new inflationary problem with the consequential rise in the cost of shipping, disruption of the global supply chain, and exacerbated by increase in world fuel prices.