Kojo Oppong Nkrumah addressing the media
GOVERNMENT IS expected to raise more revenue in the second half of 2019 to fund its outstanding co-ordinated programmes of economic and social policies.
Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta is scheduled to give details on how the revenue is to be raised when he delivers the mid-year budget review in Parliament on Monday, July 29, 2019.
Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, who briefed the media on Sunday, July 21, 2019, said though the administration believed it was steadily executing its commitments to Ghanaians, the mid-year budget review would afford it the opportunity to take a second look at revenue availability to execute the remaining programmes – key among them being infrastructure.
“…revenue mobilization which was highlighted in the 2019 budget will remain a key feature in the mid-year review,” he said.
The minister added that “the objective will be to ensure that government mobilizes enough resources to fully deliver on the outstanding commitments.”
Cuts In Expenditures
He noted that “already government has commenced efforts to cut some avoidable expenses, especially the ongoing work to cut out capacity charges for power we don’t consume.”
“It is our expectation that cutting out avoidable expenses while shoring up revenues will create more fiscal space to fully fund and execute the outstanding programmes in the medium term expenditure framework,” he added.
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank at a press conference in Accra shortly after its 89th meeting indicated there were gaps in the country’s revenue mobilization. It said such gaps, coupled with the increasing spate of spending, could pose risks to the country’s macroeconomic stability if not addressed.
Dr Ernest Addison, chairman of the MPC and governor of the BoG, stated that such concerns slowed down the pace of fiscal consolidation embarked upon by his outfit.
BY Melvin Tarlue