Ranking Member for the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament, Okudzeto Ablakwa, has commended the Minister of Finance, Hon. Ken Ofori-Atta for making an allocation for preparatory works on Phase 2 of the Blekusu Coastal Protection Project.
He took to his twitter page to express his appreciation to the Minister of Finance for making such concession.
The Minority demanded of government to withdraw the Agyapa deal and suspend the proposed 1.75% e-levy. The caucus also advocated for a proper reconstruction of paragraph 829 of the Aker Energy deal relating to GNPC’s acquisition of stake from Aker Energy and AGM Petroleum.
Additionally, the Minority wants government to review the benchmark value for imports as well as provide for the Keta tidal waves disaster.
This had led to a stalemate in the 2022 budget approval process.
However, in a letter to parliament on December 06, 2022, the Minister of Finance made some concessions on four of the Minority caucuses’ demands.
Among others, the Minister of Finance noted that there were no revenue or expenditure lines in the budget for the Agyapa deal and that reference to Agyapa was for only information purposes.
The Minister also announced GH₵10million to complete feasibility studies on the Phase 2 of the Blekusu Coastal Protection Project.
This is expected to alleviate the plights of thousands displaced residents in Keta and its surrounding communities.
Responding to this news, the Member of Parliament for North Tongu constituency in the Volta region, Hon. Okudzeto Ablakwa tweeted:
‘’I commend Hon. Ken Ofori-Atta for ignoring the bigoted & incendiary threats from a cabinet colleague & going ahead to make an allocation for preparatory works on Phase 2 of the Blekusu Coastal Protection Project. Welcome news to the over 4,000 displaced Ghanaians.’’