Additionally,48,000 teacher trainess received allowances,1.9 million farmers and other businesses received support under the Planting for Food and Jobs, while 181 companies benefitted from One District,One Factory initiative and 80 incubation hubs set up across the country.

Mr Ofori-Atta, who was presenting the 2020 Budget Statement to Parliament in Accra on Wednesday, said Government had been strong, assured, decisive, intelligent, focused, compassionate, creative and innovative in delivering in its promises to the good people of Ghana

The presentation of the Budget is in accordance with Article 179 of the 1992 Constitution, which requires the Government to present its financial policy plan for the next fiscal year to Parliament for consideration and subsequent approval.

The Finance Minister re-affirmed government's commitment to maintain fiscal discipline within the threshold of five per cent cap as outlined in the Fiscal Responsibility Act.

In the past 32 months, the Akufo-Addo's government recruited and trained 20,000 students under entrepreneurship initiative, reduced import duties by 50 per cent while 138,026 Ghanaians recruited to support public sector delivery.

More so, 1,438 new businesses were created under the National Board for Small Scale Industries, 83,000 Ghanaians recruited under the Forest Plantation programme to help restore the degraded environment and 3,000 youth trained in different digital programmes.

He said government would make Ghana a top destination for foreign direct investment in West Africa, noting that government's prudent management of the economy was bearing fruits with the economic growth up from 3.4% in 2016 to an average of 7%, as of September this year.

The year-on-year inflation decreased from 15.4% in 2016 to 7.6% in September this year, the budget deficit to GDP declined to 4.5 from over nine per cent in the previous years, trade reserves increased from US$1.8 billion in 2016 to US$2.6 billion as of the third quarter.