The 2021 Government Budget Statement will be sent later today Friday, 12 March 2021 to Parliament. On the President’s express instructions, the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, will submit the budget.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu was appointed caretaker Minister of Finance ahead of the reading.
On Thursday, a letter to that effect was sent to Parliament.
Ken Ofori-Atta, the Finance Minister-designate, has not yet been vetted due to health issues and will be unable to deliver the budget.
Mr. Ofori-Atta had been seeking medical attention in the United States since struggling with COVID-19 complications, according to the Finance Ministry.
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The Budget is supposed to set out a consistent roadmap for the country’s economic growth after C0VID-19.
Cabinet accepted a blueprint on March 8 ahead of the budget that is supposed to bring Ghana’s economy back on track in the post-pandemic period.
The Nana Akufo-Addo administration’s priority in the blueprint, dubbed the Post COVID-19 Economic Recovery Plan, is to implement policies and programs that will strengthen the economy and generate more employment.
The government is still considering extending the tax base and increasing current taxes in order to collect funds domestically to finance the post-crisis economic recovery strategy.
An observer with a tax analyst, Dr. Ali Nakyea, has voiced support for this, advising the government to tax Ghana’s digital economy, for example, to supplement government revenue inflows.
Source: ATLFMNEWSROOM
