Ken Ofori-Atta
Government is to spend an amount of GH¢27,434,180,520.0 as Expenditure in Advance of Appropriation to carry on the services of government until the expiration of the first quarter.
Ken Ofori-Atta, former Minister for Finance, made this known when he submitted it to Parliament in October last year for January to March 2021.
“I humbly request this august House by resolution to approve an amount of GH¢27,434,180,520 as Expenditure in Advance of Appropriation to carry on the services of government until the expiration of three months from the beginning of the 2021 Financial Year,” he stated.
This comprises GH¢7,708,960,148 as Compensation of Employees; Use of Goods and Services of GH¢1,595,571,683; Interest Payments of GH¢7,002,221,941; Subsidies of GH¢259,087,194; Grants to Other Government Units of GH¢4,340,216,517; Social Benefits of GH¢41,271,000; Other Expenditure of GH¢813,610,025; and Capital Expenditure of GH¢1,903,658,408 all bringing total expenditure to GH¢23,664,596,915. Others include Arrears Clearance of GH¢350,000,000 and Amortization of GH¢3,419,583,605.
The minister also requested an “approval for the issuance of sovereign bonds of $3 billion with the option to increase it to $5 billion should market conditions prove favourable.”
Mr. Ofori-Atta further indicated that his outfit would submit a more detailed 2021 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of Government to this august House by March 2021.
“For the purposes of the 2021 Expenditure in Advance of Appropriation, we have projected the 2021 first quarter Total Revenue and Grants at GH¢13.3 billion while total expenditure including the clearance of arrears is projected at GH¢24 billion.
“These result in the projected fiscal deficit of GH¢10.7 billion for the period. Mr. Speaker, to support the 2021 Budget and liability management, we plan to source funding from the international capital market. This will comprise the issuance of sovereign bonds of $3 billion with the option to increase it to $5 billion should market conditions prove favourable.
“Out of the amount to be raised, $1.5 billion will be used to support the 2021 Budget and $3.5 billion for liability management,” he underlined.
BY Samuel Boadi