Ofori Atta Presents 2023 Budget

Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta will present before Parliament, the 2023 Budget Statement and Economic Policy.

The Budget is believed to house the conclusions of the government’s negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The budget was scheduled to be presented on November 15 in accordance with the Public Financial Management Act, however, it was delayed due to the government’s failure to conclude negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on time.

“The discussions that are going on now with the IMF, I think it’s going to take a while. My understanding is that it will go into the first few days of next week around the 10th or so. If that is the case, we then have to string out the negotiations and factor them into the budget”, the Member of Parliament for the Suame constituency said earlier this month.

He added that the delay does not breach the constitution.

Ahead of the presentation, Gabby Otchere Darko, a leading member of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) described its content as crucial to the negotiations with the IMF.

“Thursday’s 2022 budget is crucial. It can’t suffer a fate similar to the 2022 budget and its revenue measures. It could completely derail negotiations with the Fund if not passed”, Gabby Tweeted.

According to him, the budget contains critical revenue generation measures.

“Critical to this are its revenue generation measures.”

In a statement, the Finance Ministry said the Budget features “Ghana’s engagement with the IMF for an IMF-supported Programme; year-to-date macro-fiscal performance of the economy; the YouStart initiative under the Ghana CARES Programme; climate action strategies; fiscal measures and debt management strategies to ensure fiscal and debt sustainability and promote growth”

It noted that it focuses on Government’s strategies to restore and stabilise the macro economy, build resilience, and promote inclusive growth and value creation.

Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini