The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has assured Ghanaians of  good policies to alleviate poverty after the Government presented its 2017 budget, saying "there is more to come."

The Vice President,speaking at a Muslim intercessory prayer at the Accra Central Mosque on Friday, said the components of the budget indicates the government’s commitment to realising all the promises it made to Ghanaians during the 2016 election campaign period.

“This is just the beginning. There is more to come from the president, Nana Akufo Addo and so we are asking for your prayers for the President and Ghana”he said.

“The President wants us all to live harmoniously and work hard to achieve the dreams that he has for this country.”

The finance minister, Ken Ofori Atta during the presentation of the 2017 budget statement and economic policy announced that the government has earmarked various amounts for the implementation of flagship programs such as one-district one-factory and one-village one-dam.

It had also allocated some amount as seed money for the Zongo development fund.

The minister also announced that the government had abolished a number taxes including those on the importation of spare parts and the 1% levy special import levy, a move the minority describe as "deceptive and populist".

The  former minister for finance under the erstwhile National Democratic Congress (NDC) Seth Tekper, has expressed dissatisfaction of the budget statement raising a number of questions including government’s decision to scrap levies on ‘kayayei’ only when other head porters also paid some levies.

He also raised concerns that the scrapping of taxes on the importation of spare parts will result in dumping in the country.

But the  Vice President has refuted thae claim, saying  all the plans announced in the budget will help make the lives of Ghanaians better.

He also assured that the government intends to implement more policies that will promote the country’s development.

Dr Bawumia had attended a Muslim intercessory prayer at the Central Mosque in Accra as part of the events to mark the country’s 60th anniversary.

By:Fiifi Abdul Malik