Analysts have impressed on government to be prudent in its expenditure in order to benefit from the global declining crude oil prices.<\/p>\n
The price of Brent crude declined to a record low of below 40 dollars last week.<\/p>\n
This is because the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided not to cut oil output despite excess supply.<\/p>\n
The 2016 budget statement quoted an estimated crude oil price of 53.05 dollars per barrel with anticipated revenues from the petroleum sector pegged at GH\u00a22,008.4 million.<\/p>\n
This figure, some industry watchers predict the government may be forced to revise if the development persists.<\/p>\n
An economist, Dr. Samuel Nii-Noi Ashong told\u00a0Citi Business News<\/strong>, rationalizing expenditure will reduce the impact on Ghana, which is a net importer of oil.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are a net importer of oil so the oil prices declining is good for us in terms of oil imports to fuel the thermal plants and all others,but in terms of revenues accruing to the budget, it will be smaller. But on the other hand,we are going to have some respite in the supply of oil and other petroleum products for consumers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Dr. Nii-Noi Ashong added, \u201cIf the prices come down below the 53 dollars target, that will affect government\u2019s revenues which means either the government cuts down on expenditure or a deficit will be created which will have to be financed from other sources.\u201d<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n By: Pius Amihere Eduku\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Analysts have impressed on government to be prudent in its expenditure in order to benefit from the global declining crude oil prices. The price of Brent crude declined to a record low of below 40 dollars last week. This is because the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided not to cut oil output […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":47790,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[22,38,4],"yoast_head":"\n