The People's National Convention (PNC) on Tuesday commended Parliament for approving the 2021 budget after an extensive debate.

"We believe that democracy has won," a statement signed and issued by the Party's General Secretary, Ms Janet Asana Nabila, and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Tema stated.

The statement said the party welcomed the "brilliant budget in totality, because of its positive outlook" and had taken note of how the government intended to raise funds to finance the budget and initiate a recovery programme to propel the growth of the economy.

It however stated that "we shall monitor keenly on the audacious proposals to put the economy back to sound footing through the Ghana Care Programme."

The Party also commended government on the interventions taken in the heat of the COVID-19 lockdown, and called on "government to come clean on the utilization of funds raised for the fight against the pandemic especially when questions are being raised on misappropriation and corruption by some governance watchers.

"The PNC acknowledged that a budget is an expression of a wish to spend and how to generate revenue to finance the expenditure" it said, and encouraged the government to consider the criticism expressed regarding which expenditure to prioritize.

In order to stimulate growth, the statement said "the PNC believes we should channel more resources to One District One Factory, Planting for Food and Jobs, Microfinance and Small Loan Centers, Digitization to formalize the economy, Free SHS."

The party further commended the government for bringing back the teachers and nurses trainee allowance, and called on "government to employ the professionals immediately after they complete their courses to solve the human resource challenges encountered in both the educational and health sector."

"We assure Ghanaians that a future PNC government shall prioritise its expenditures to stimulate growth and ensure local productions of our basic needs thereby cutting down on imports and implement pro-poor policies to eradicate poverty" the statement concluded.

The statement said the party consider its assessment of the budget as the exercise of its fiduciary duty subject to the provision of Article 55(3) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana; "a political party is free to participate in shaping the political will of the people, to disseminate information on political ideas, social and economic programmes of a national character."