The Minister for Finance, Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta, has indicated that the government and his ministry will ensure the irreversibility of the macroeconomic gains Ghana has made.
Presenting the 2019 Budget Statement and Economic Policy to Parliament at the Plenary, Mr. Ofori-Atta, pointed out that as Ghana completes and exits the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme in December 2018, the government is also instituting measures to sustain the macroeconomic gains made.
He revealed that the government will legislate a fiscal responsibility rule to cap the fiscal deficit to not more than 5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as part of measures to promote budget credibility and fiscal sustainability.
The Finance Minister again informed the House that the government will strictly enforce the Public Financial Management Act (PFM) to promote efficient and effective public financial management.
Mr. Ofori-Atta reiterated that the government will again continue with the zero central bank financing arrangement with the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to curb fiscal dominance as part of measures to rein-in on inflation.
On domestic resource mobilisation, Mr. Ofori-Atta stated that the government will maximise domestic resource mobilisation and increase Tax Revenue-to-GDP ratio to levels in line with Lower Middle-Income countries.
”The government will implement expenditure efficiency and rationalisation measures to increase efficiency in public spending and free more fiscal space for growth oriented and job-creating programmes. We will again enforce the Public Procurement Act and ensure sole sourcing is minimised to promote competition and efficiency in public spending, thereby, promoting value for money”, he asserted.
He however, concluded that Ghana will continue to engage the IMF even after its exit from the current Programme.
Source: GhanaJustice/S.Ayisi
