The Finance Ministry has stated it will not seek a supplementary budget even as it presents a midyear budget review to Parliament on Monday [July 31, 2017].
Per the constitution, the Finance Minister is expected to give an account of the performance of the economy before the commencement of the second half of the year.
The motion for Parliament to approve the midyear review of the budget has been scheduled for Monday, July 31.
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta is expected to among others give an assessment of how the economy fared in terms of revenue and expenditure projections for the first half of the year.
He may also if necessary, announce reviews to some targets set in the 2017 budget in February this year.
Even though this review has in some instances been associated with request for budget surpluses, sources at the Ministry tell Citi Business News there will not be a request for such this time round.
IFS cautions of missing target over non expenditure
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has cautioned that government will miss its 2017 budget target should it fail to spend in critical sectors of the economy.
The IFS argues that government’s refusal to pay valid arrears and invest in infrastructure development for the first half of this year has impacted heavily on economic growth.
The warning comes on the back of an assessment of the economy for the first half of 2017.
The Executive Director of the IFS, Professor Newman Kusi explains that the cut in some critical expenditure has affected economic performance so far.
“The cuts in expenditure have been affected; those that we actually need such as the capital spending, earmarked funds, payment for goods and services among others. But then again the government has its hands tied at its back because it cannot cut back on wages and salaries, interest payments, etc and these together take a disproportionate share of the revenue that is collected,” he stated.
In general, the IFS described as encouraging, the government’s efforts to achieve economic stability.
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By: Pius Amihere Eduku/Duke Mensah Opoku/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana