Govt spends GH¢12bn on Free SHS - Move intentional for human capital development — Finance Minister

The government has spent over GH¢12 billion on the implementation of the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy since 2017.

The aim is to intentionally develop quality human capital and skilled personnel for industries.

The funds were spent to provide educational needs for more than 5.7 million students across various public schools to help ensure access to secondary education without financial barriers.

The Minister of Finance, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, made this known at the 13th AGI Ghana Industry and Quality Awards in Accra last Wednesday night.

He stated that the investment made would bring returns to the country in the near future.

“The spending on the free SHS is not by accident but by international means because the 5.7 million Ghanaian children will bring returns one day. The skills these young people have acquired will bring huge returns into the economy in the near future,” he added.

The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) instituted the annual AGI Ghana Industry and Quality Awards to reward companies and industries in different areas of business performance.

This year's event was held on the theme: "Navigating the uncertainties of our business landscape to sustain productivity". It was organised in partnership with the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) with support from other corporate entities.

In all, eight categories and 23 sector awards were presented to firms that have achieved outstanding success in various areas of industry and innovation in the year under review, with Nestle Ghana Ltd emerging the Overall Best Industrial Company of the Year.

Other winners included Petrosol Platinum Energy Ltd, Softcare FM Manufacturing Company, Pioneer Business Investment Services, Enterprise Computing Ltd, Sesa Recycling Ltd, Ahodwo Farms, and Crocodile Matchets Ltd.

Other interventions

Dr Amin Adam said the government had also successfully increased budgetary allocation to the national health insurance scheme, school feeding programme and capitation grant.

"In some of these initiatives, we have tripled the allocations to ensure that nobody is left behind in the development process”.

"The opportunities we are generating must be shared to the benefit of everybody in the country and not just a few people. But we want to thank industries for their advocacy role," he said.

Dr Amin Adam urged industries to continue to be critical of the government to help it correct mistakes and steer the affairs of the country towards prosperity.

"I want to take the opportunity to congratulate all awardees, AGI and its partners for instituting this awards scheme to recognise the contributions of industry to the economy," the Finance Minister said.

Businesses struggling

The Director-General of the Ghana Standards Authority, Professor Alex Dodoo, said Ghanaian industries held the key to the country’s recovery from the combined effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the war in Gaza and the changing geopolitical environment in Europe and North America.

He said the combination of those factors had created conditions where businesses were struggling to cope.

“However, our country’s recovery from these multiple negative effects hinges on the success of Ghanaian industry. Successful Ghanaian industry is the solution that Ghana needs to recover from the pandemic, reduce our external debt and create new and well-paid jobs in sufficient numbers,” Prof. Dodoo said.

“You are our hope, tomorrow and forever. As a national standards body, GSA and its international partners have multiple examples of how to recover following such headwinds. We have standards and processes that can be leveraged to ensure that Ghanaian industry succeeds, and we offer them to you to use to move our country forward,” he said.

Unwavering commitment

The President of AGI, Dr Humphrey Ayim Darke, stated that in spite of the trials, local businesses had demonstrated remarkable fortitude, creativity and an unwavering commitment to productivity.

He said provisional gross domestic product (GDP) data from the Ghana Statistical Service for the second quarter of 2024 pointed to a stronger growth outturn than expected.

He said real GDP grew by 6.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2024, compared with 2.9 per cent in the corresponding quarter of 2023, and 4.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2024.

“We are hopeful that such remarkable growth will be sustained,” he added.