EducationGhana | November 26| NUGS on 2022 Budget: The leadership of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) has called on the Parliament of Ghana to approve the 2022 Budget.
The NUGS said the budget address their concerns as students hence called for its approval by the Parliament of Ghana.
NUGS made this revelation in a November 25, 2021 press conference being held at the University of Ghana, Accra City Campus.
The statement indicated, that the National Union of Ghanaian Students has for the past days after the budget was read, observed various public discussions and commentary on the statement and economic policy.
The NUGS said after studying the 2022 budget and isolating portions of the budget that relates to Ghanaian students and youth in general, the leadership deem it necessary to make a number of remarks, proposals and advice to the government as well as the legislature; who are scheduled to take a vote on the budget to the Ghanaian student and the public in general.
Removal of Tolls
According to NUGS, it applaud the government for removing all road tolls which had contributed to a lot of inconveniences since it created unnecessary traffic on roads among several other disincentives to road users. We call on the government to as a matter of urgency employ the affected workers.
”We applaud the government for removing all road tolls which had contributed to a lot of
inconveniences since it created unnecessary traffic on roads among several other
disincentives to road users. We call on the government to as a matter of urgency
employ the affected workers.” The statement said.
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E- Levy
In addition, the NUGS indicated, that according to the government, E-levy is a new tax measure that will be applied only to the originator of transactions on electronic payments, which includes Fintech platforms, online banking and mobile money platforms.
”A new measure, according to the government is aimed at raising funds to relieve the country’s debt situation which has escalated as a result of COVID19 with the various challenges so the decision to look internally to raise revenue to cater for certain aspects of the economy is a step in the right direction.” They said.
NUGS added, that However, they would also want Government to give them firm assurance and commitment that the revenue that will be generated as a result of the E-levy will be used to tackle the things stated in the budget, which includes the YouStart Initiative road construction, developing the digital space of Ghana and particularly the development of Basic Education in the country amongst several others.
Stakeholder Engagements
The union also called on the government to do more stakeholder engagements and
public education on the E-levy in order to relieve fears that have been expressed on
some of the impact of the levy to be able to undertake the planned initiatives for the
a coming year like the YouStart Initiative.
”We would like to admonish the government to do more stakeholder engagements and
public education on the E-levy in order to relieve fears that have been expressed on
some of the impact of the levy to be able to undertake the planned initiatives for the
a coming year like the YouStart Initiative.” They said.
YouStart Initiative
NUGS further elaborated, that the YouStart initiative is of great interest to the youth and Ghanaian Students at large.
”Lots of young entrepreneurs spread across the various campuses in our tertiary
institutions are in dying need of a boost to grow their young business.”
”It focuses to empower youth entrepreneurs and young individuals with business ideas to expand them and start their businesses respectively. A push which we believe would go a long way to reduce the growing unemployment situation in the country.” They said.
Resources Allocation
The Union urged the government to judiciously allocate the resources, ie. taking
into consideration the poor and needy youth who really need this push to develop their
imaginative businesses into reality but not a selected few especially on partisan merits.
”The above we(Student Union) would be monitoring closely at the start of the initiative,
having received assurances from the Finance Ministry that the policy would toe in that
direction.” The statement said.
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Youth Entrepreneurship
NUGS commends the decision by banks in partnership with financial institutions to invest 10 billion into youth entrepreneurship to help young people start their businesses.
NUGS added, that under this arrangement, the youth can go to banks and take loans at low-interest rates and not have to use collateral.
”The leadership of the Students Unions highly commends the Government for this bold
intervention which will help reduce the issue of unemployment in this country and will
ensure that young people after completing their education will get access to funding.”They said.
”This for us is one of the biggest interventions we have seen in the fourth republic to
address an issue of ultimate importance to youth unemployment.” The student leaders said.
University Endowment Fund
The Students Leadership said the decision to set up a university endowment as part of YouStart is spot on and novel.
”We cannot wait for this to be rolled out and for students to benefit from this.
The government as a matter of urgency must fast-track the progress towards initiating
YouStart and we would closely monitor it to ensure there is transparency in the
disbursement of the funds.” They said.
Other Commendations
”The government in the 2022 budget has forecasted a lot of things that seek to prepare the
Ghanaian youth for the future. This ranges from providing infrastructure and
championing skills development.”
”Already, we have seen progress in the development of the Youth Resource Centers which are already at various stages of completion.”
”Government also intends to construct new centres in the new regions. The Youth
Resource Centers consist of the following facilities; eight-lane athletic track, FIFA
standard football pitch, tennis court, basketball court, handball court, fully furnished
gym, counselling unit, ICT section, entrepreneurship centre and a restaurant. ” They said.
Appeals
Basic Education
In their closing remark, the Union appealed to the Government through the
Education ministry to take a critical look at the development of Basic Education in
the country.
”The Union in our own little resources as executives embarked on a
“NUGS FIX IT CAMPAIGN” through which we donated packets of roofing sheets,
blocks, cement and other building materials to Yonso Islamic Basic School, Mampong
Municipal, Ashanti Region and the New Nyanyano Kojo-Oku Basic School in the
Central Region respectively to make their infrastructure fit for purpose.”
”Due to how pertinent we are in relation to Basic School development, The Union
together with other NGOs presented a petition to Parliamentary Select Committee on
Education on the implementation of the “Education Spike Campaign” aimed at
promoting investment in Public Basic Education to improve upon the quality, as
commercialization adversely impacts on its access, equity and standards in the pre –
tertiary education.”
”We would like to draw the government’s attention to the many underdeveloped basic
schools in the country in terms of infrastructure and teaching and learning materials
particularly the provision of textbooks to the basic schools for the new curriculum which has been in full practice for almost 2 years now.”
”The Ministry of Finance together with the education ministry should allocate a budget to address this challenging concerns at the basic level.” They said.
Teacher Trainees Allowances
The students also called on the Government to pay the long overdue outstanding six months arrears of Teacher Trainees’ across the 46 Public Colleges Of Education in the country.
This they believe would help alleviate the hardships on Trainees particularly those undertaking their Teaching Practices (Out- Program Segment).
”Again, we would be very pleased to hear the Government pay the long overdue
outstanding six months arrears of Teacher Trainees’ across the 46 Public Colleges
Of Education in the country. This is to help alleviate the hardships on Trainees
particularly those undertaking their Teaching Practices (Out- Program Segment).” They said.
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