The recent Mid-Year Budget Review presented in Parliament has sparked a storm of reactions among citizens, who took to social media to voice their discontent. Despite addressing several pressing economic issues, many feel the government’s proposals and explanations fall short of alleviating their daily struggles.
Many citizens have been grappling with the high cost of goods and services, especially food, fuel, transport, and utility tariffs. This widespread frustration has led to criticisms that the government’s measures are inadequate. One citizen remarked, “The economy has rebounded with some fake growth rate as measured by tallying answers to questions submitted by the criminal class in parliament.”
The Finance Minister’s announcement of training 500 youth in agriculture and entrepreneurship, in partnership with Mastercard, was met with skepticism. Critics described the statement as mere rhetoric, pointing out the lack of tangible evidence and questioning the actual impact of the initiative. “The funny thing about this is; it’s just talk, nobody is going to ask for evidence or proof. He’s just stating numbers, figures and stats and be done. Where is the 500 youth, what are they engaged in at the moment, how’s it beneficial to the country? How many jobs have been created as a result of the training, what is the increase in food production or agriculture growth, how has it boosted economic growth or GDP, what is the long-term sustainability plan for the trained youth?” another citizen questioned.
The One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative was another focal point of debate. The Finance Minister claimed the programme has supported 322 factories across 142 districts. However, many citizens reported that their districts have yet to see any implementation of this flagship initiative, casting doubt on the government’s claims. “Please, is Weija-Gbawe part? I don’t see any in my constituency to talk about districts in other constituencies,” one citizen reacted. Some even suggested that the budget review has become an annual exercise in disseminating misleading information, with the content often not reflecting the reality of citizens’ lives.
A particularly contentious issue was the government’s decision to stop road toll collection in favour of the e-levy, only to announce the reintroduction of road tolls in the Mid-Year Review. Citizens expressed outrage over this decision, feeling disregarded by the government. This move is perceived as a strategy to exploit citizens financially, exacerbating the sentiment that the government prioritizes revenue generation over the welfare of its people. “This government is just taking advantage of us citizens. They swore e-levy was the solution and was a better option so they had to stop road tolls. We citizens were against e-levy but they went ahead and introduced it and mocked us with a cake celebration and now they want to bring back what they cancelled because of the e-levy they swore was going to change the country?” another person shared.
The prevailing sentiment among many citizens is one of mistrust and disillusionment. They believe the government’s actions, as outlined in the budget review, do not align with their needs and realities. Instead, they see it as a series of measures designed to burden them further financially, with little regard for their daily struggles.
