Ghana’s Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has presented a GH¢290.97 billion budget to the country’s Parliament for consideration and approval.
Presenting the budget to the lawmakers on Tuesday in Accra, the minister said that the budget would assist in the implementation of the transformational policies of the government this year while resetting the economy.
He gave the projected revenues and grants of GH¢223.8 billion, which is equivalent to 17.2 per cent of the total value of goods and services produced within the economy, which is higher than the 2024 figure of GH¢186.5 billion.
Dr Forson explained that the shortfall of GH¢56.9 billion in the budget would be financed through a number of domestic measures, including enforcement, cost-cutting and treasury bills amounting to GH¢36.9 billion or 2.6 per cent of GDP, with foreign financing of GH¢21.4 billion (1.5 per cent of GDP) coming from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme disbursements of $720 million and World Bank Development Policy Operation (DPO) funding of $600 million.
“I look forward to working with you, the Right Honourable Speaker, and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, to reset Ghana’s economy through sound policy and structural reforms that will propel our nation forward,” Dr Forson said.
He said there must be a time in a nation’s history when fundamental challenges must be confronted, difficult choices made, and a new course set for the future, saying “For Ghana, that defining moment is now!”
The minister, who described the budget as “budget of hope”, stressed that the government was committed to adopting bold expenditure measures anchored on transparency, accountability and downsizing government spending in the implementation of the interventions across all sectors for sustainable development.
He called on the Legislature, Judiciary and all other stakeholders to support President John Dramani Mahama’s bold cost-cutting initiatives and vision to reset the economy and put the country on the right path to sustainable development.
According to the minister, some of the highlights of the budget included the removal of infamous taxes such as the Betting Tax, the Electronic Transaction Levy (e-levy), Emission Levy, and Value Added Tax (VAT) on motor vehicles insurance, and key policy interventions for job creation, infrastructure development and economic rebound.
Speaking on the medium to long-term objectives and targets of the government, Dr Forson said that although the state of the economy was currently troubling, the government would take bold steps to turn the tide around.
“We will fix it! It will require some sacrifices, truthfulness, transparency and discipline. We will take strong measures to confront the situation head-on,” he said.
Local media reports quoted the finance minister as saying that navigating the current economic challenges would require sacrifices from all stakeholders, beginning with the government, with President Mahama leading the charge by significantly downsizing his government “from the elephant 88 to 60 ministers” while also reducing the number of government ministries from 30 to 23.
GIK/APA