Majority Leader and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu is set to deliver the 2021 budget speech on Friday, 12 March 2020. It comes after the Finance Minister-designate, Ken Ofori-Atta, was unable to deliver the budget owing to his ill health.
The presentation of the budget is in accordance with Article 179 of the 1992 Constitution and section 21 of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921).
Mr. Ofori-Atta proposed the 2021 Expenditure in Advance Appropriation Budget in October of last year. As the country’s government transitions after the 2020 polls, the legislation requires that preparations be made for the first quarter budget.
The government’s spending for the first quarter of 2021 is forecast to be GH27.34 billion, with overall sales and grants projected to be GH13.3 billion, and total expenditure and arrears clearance expected to be GH24.01 billion.
This was supposed to result in a GH10.7 billion budget deficit.
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Dr. Patrick Asuming, an economist at the University of Ghana Business School, has encouraged the government to use the 2021 budget reading to present the country with a realistic recovery strategy.
Dr. Asuming said in an interview with Citi Business News that a credible roadmap that lays out Ghana’s path to economic recovery is crucial. “What I would expect is that the budget will be very realistic about where we are in terms of the crisis. Hopefully, we continue getting more of the vaccines to help things normalize a bit. I thus expect a credible and believable recovery plan that will show us what our road to recovery looks like. A plan that says that spells out the strategies for bringing back the macro-economy back on track in the medium term.”
Source: ATLFMNEWSROOM
