The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has lauded the government’s quest to concentrate on meeting some targets of the Sustainable Development Goals in the 2024 Budget.

According to the UN agency, issues of tax waivers on raw materials for locally produced sanitary pads and the allocation of funds for agriculture and youth job creation will help in meeting key targets of the SDGs.

Fatmata Lovetta Sesay, Senior Economist, UNDP Ghana and The Gambia, told Joy Business at the 2024 Post Budget Forum by the KPMG and UNDP, that the government move is a bold one.

The government in the 2024 Budget said it is committed to supporting private sector growth with the introduction of some tax waivers and policies in the budget.

Reacting to the development, the Chief Economist at the UNDP, lauded the initiative and urged private sector businesses to take advantage and participate in some of the initiatives.

“We see a lot of room for private sector participation in many of the SDG targets by government. Already, financing has been established here in Ghana for what it takes to attain the SGD goals which is a huge budget regardless of the initiatives that are very commendable in the budget".

“There is a lot of room for the private sector to get involved. There are a lot of poverty reduction initiatives outlined by the government” she added.

The forum was aimed at bringing out some perspectives on key policies in the 2024 Budget for the private sector.

Meanwhile, Senior Partner at KPMG, Anthony Sarpong, believes that the 2024 Budget will set a growth path for businesses if all the policies are implemented to the letter.

“This budget has been anchored in the theme of pursuing macroeconomic stability and growth is fundamental for our journey into stabilising the economy and you will see signs of some stable exchange rate and inflation”, he noted.

The KPMG/UNDP Post budget forum was under the theme “Pursuing Growth and Development within a Stable Macroeconomic Environment”.