By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT
After weeks of pursuing the 2019 Budget from Estimate stage to the final Approved stage, Gainako has finally laid its hands on the Approved 2019 Budget. Below is the first in our series of articles on the Approved 2019 Budget focussing on the Budget Appropriation Report. The total sum of the Appropriation Budget is D17 Billion Dalasi.
The Office of The President, the National Assembly, and the Judiciary have been allocated D697 Million, D132 Million and D164 Million respectively. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been allocated D1.2 Billion, surpassing the allocation of all three branches of government combined. At the lower end of the scale, however, is the Ministry of Youth and Sports with 0.83% (D141 Million) of the 2019 Budget.
The largest slice of the budget goes to Debt Services (D4.7 Billion), followed by the Ministry of Basic & Secondary Education (D2 Billion) and Centralized Services (D1.3 Billion). The smallest slice of the budget goes to the Public Service Commission (D9.9 Million) followed by the Office of the Ombudsman (D20 Million) and the Independent Electoral Commission (D29 Million).
Below is the 2019 Approved Budget Appropriation Report reproduced from page ii of the Approved Copy of Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure 2019.