Minister of Finance to Present Supplementary Budget July 29

General News of Saturday, July 27, 2019

Source: Myjoyonline.com

2019-07-27

Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta is seeking Parliament's approval on Monday, July 29, to spend the additional revenues.

This would add to the semi-annual review that the Minister is required to submit to Parliament under the Financial Administration Act.

Deputy Finance Minister Kweku Kwarteng, who leaked the information to JoyBusiness, said it would not result in a budget deficit or an opening of "flood gates" and spending outside the budget. of 2019.

He told JoyBusiness that the government would like to use this additional revenue to fund crucial initiatives in certain sectors of the economy.

Conservative spending and containing the budget deficit

It is feared that seeking approval for additional spending will result in a loss of control of the budget deficit.

However, the deputy minister argued that the government had learned from its experience and would not accept any spending that could hinder the economy.

"We are seeking authorization to spend in very important sectors that would favor a strong economy" and would in no way affect the budget deficit.

You have seen 2012 exceed spending and its impact on the economy and how we are still feeling the effects today, "added the Deputy Minister of Finance.

He noted that the government would do nothing that could harm the economy on behalf of the elections.

Kwarteng said the extra spending was very strategic and would not in any way aim to win next year's elections.

"We do not need to spend outside the budget because of elections, because we do not want to go back to what happened in 2012," he said.

Possible expenditure reductions?

The deputy minister also revealed that there would indeed be spending cuts or what could be called "realignment" expenditures or a transfer of funds in very large areas.

He added that allocations for growth and job creation could also evolve, as outlined in the 2019 budget.

That does not necessarily mean that we simply want to manage the deficit, but rather to achieve a strategic objective of the government.

"It's our commitment to live within our means as a government," he said.

Energy sector debt and expensive energy contracts He also revealed that the mid-term review and the supplementary budget would help deal with expensive energy contracts, which weigh heavily on the finances of the energy sector. State.

Dr. Ernest Addison, Governor of the Bank of Ghana, recently said that the payment of these contracts, which were "dollar-structured", put a lot of pressure on the reserves of the Bank of Ghana.

But Kwarteng said the finance minister would propose political measures to help contain the challenge.

He added that Mr Ofori-Atta would like to take some difficult steps to remedy some of the problems inherited from the past.

"As a government, we are taking steps to address some of these problems and we are determined to solve them and we will never again need to procure goods we do not need," he said. he declares.

He noted, however, that there would also be intervention in the area.

Update on semiannual review and supplementary budget

Mr. Kwarteng added that Ken Ofori Atta's briefing would help strengthen the economy and deliver on the government's plan to firmly stabilize the economy and create the jobs needed. He also badured that they hoped to use this review to give businesses and investors the confidence to contribute to the growth of the economy.

Why the mid-year exam?

The Financial Administration Act requires the Minister of Finance to appear before Parliament before July 31 to inform Parliament of developments in the economy.

The presentation would give the minister an opportunity to inform the Senate of the economic developments over the last six months and to tell Parliament what to do next. wait for the next semester.

The presentation would also offer the Minister an opportunity to review some of the macroeconomic objectives set out in the 2019 budget.

Revision of macroeconomic objectives

Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta also told JoyBusiness that he will use this presentation to discuss some of the macroeconomic goals set out in the 2019 budget presented to Parliament last November.

These are some of the macroeconomic objectives identified by governments last year and likely to be addressed in the Minister's presentation to Parliament. – Overall real GDP growth of 7.6%; – Non-oil real GDP growth of 6.2%; – inflation of 8.0% at the end of the period; – budget deficit of 4.2% of GDP; – Primary surplus of 1.2% of GDP; and – gross international reserves to cover at least 3.5 months of imports of goods and services