Former Deputy Finance Minister, Mona Quartey, has expressed her disapproval of the government’s decision to revise the Appropriation Bill from GH¢227.7 billion to GH¢206 billion. According to Quartey, this should not be hailed as a significant economic achievement since the government is already facing financial constraints, leaving them with no choice but to adopt cautious spending measures.
The government defended the GH¢20 billion expenditure cut, asserting that it adequately addresses the country’s current state and, therefore, no supplementary budget was necessary during the budget review. While tax revenue showed improvement in the first six months of the year, oil revenues fell short of expectations due to changes in global prices, leading to the need for expenditure reduction to match revenue underperformance.
However, Quartey disagreed with the government’s position and pointed out the country’s ongoing challenges, including the repayment of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme and being locked out of the capital market.
She emphasized that the expenditure cut was not a proactive choice but rather a necessity due to the lack of available funds. The government had no alternative but to borrow from the domestic market for recurrent expenses.
Despite acknowledging the government’s decision not to introduce new taxes, Quartey called for more significant investments in infrastructure to address the country’s considerable deficit in this area.
Source : citibusinessnews