Following are the highlights of the Budget Statement.

The 2005 Budget has projected a 5.8 per cent growth in Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a target that was achieved in 2004, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu told Parliament yesterday.

Mr Baah-Wiredu, who was presenting the 2005 Budget Statement, said agriculture, was expected to grow at 6.5 per cent and make a contribution of 41 per cent to the GDP.

- Industry is to grow at 5.8 per cent to contribute 24.5 per cent to GDP.

- Services Sector would contribute 5.4 per cent.

- Inflation is expected to be at 13.5 per cent by the end of December 2005.

- Gross international reserves would be maintained at four months' of import.

- Domestic Primary surplus equivalent to 2.4 per cent of GDP.

- Overall budget deficit would be equivalent to 2.7 per cent.

- Internal Revenue Service is expected to increase its share of revenue mobilisation from 30.7 per cent in 2004 to 32.1 per cent.

- The Value Added Tax Service (VAT) would maintain its 26 per cent share while that of Customs, Excise and Preventive Service would fall marginally at 35.6 per cent from 37.7 per cent in 2004.

- Priority areas would be Human Resource Development through education;

- Private Sector Development; envisaging agriculture-based human development and infrastructure development.

- Government has allocated 150 billion cedis to the Ministry of Works and Housing as seed money to construct low-cost houses throughout the country.

- It is expected that 2,000 housing units would be provided over a two-year period.

- Selected commodities to be supported include maize, rice, mango, citrus, soybean and cashew.

- 350 million cedis would be given to all districts for investments in these selected areas.

- Protein intake would be improved through support for aquaculture and the breeding of small ruminants.

- Up to 15 billion cedis allocated for the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to undertake Apicultural Research.

- 50 billion cedis from the HIPC resources would be disbursed into the rural electrification fund. A Cocoa Celebration Day is to be set aside this year to promote consumption of cocoa during which cocoa would be served at all official functions and to tourists.

Announcing this in Accra yesterday, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, said the government would further promote a policy to serve cocoa at all national, regional and district functions.

Mr Baah-Wiredu said this when he presented the 2005 Budget Statement to Parliament. He said even though Ghana (the world's second largest cocoa producer after Cote d'Ivoire) produces a large quantity of cocoa, the use or consumption of the produce is on a rather low scale.

Mr Baah-Wiredu said a programme in conjunction with the Ministry of Education and Sports would be adopted to supply pre-school, basic and second cycle educational institutions with cocoa products free of charge as part of a national food and nutrition initiative.

"The government also aims at rationalising taxes to enhance the private sector development, he said.

Mr Baah-Wiredu said the government would set up a commission to review pension schemes and encourage the informal sector to join the Social Security and national Insurance Trust (SSNIT) Pension Scheme. GNA