The Minority in Parliament has cautioned the Finance Minister against publishing the 2015 budget without the implications of the bail out programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The Minority spokesperson on Finance, Dr. Anthony Akoto-Osei told Citi News, government will be wasting the time of Parliament if it presents details of its discussions with the IMF to the House at a later date.
The Finance Minister, Seth Terkper is scheduled to present to Parliament the 2015 budget by the end of November.
[contextly_sidebar id=”P1FautrPIFuB91FRBWosP7xtzdqzZZ2D”]Government is seeking assistance from the IMF to help turn the economy around after months of serious challenges such as the huge budget deficit, heightened inflation, huge wage bill and public debt.
Dr. Akoto Osei who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tafo in the Ashanti Region stated that it is important for MPs and Ghanaians to be informed on the conditions which will be accompanying the IMF bailout.
He alleged that all indications point to the fact that negotiations with the IMF have not been concluded yet because it is highly probable that the government has not been able to meet the requirements the IMF are demanding.
“It is quite possible that the government is not able to do what they [IMF[ want them to do which means that they want to bring the budget without the IMF conditions but it will be a waste of our time,” he remarked.
He recommended that if the government and the IMF cannot agree on the terms and conditions, “they can do what we call vote on account and then continue with the discussions.”
Dr. Akoto Osei was of the opinion that the seeming difficulty government is having with the negotiations “tells me that there are many problems we are yet to see.”
He stressed that it wouldn’t make “sense to bring a budget that does not include the discussions with the IMF” adding that the two bodies must come to finality.
“So you bring it [budget] now and come back in January, March to bring another budget doesn’t make sense,” he said.
By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana