Government rejects Minority’s gloomy prediction ahead of Mid-year Budget Review presentation
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta will later this morning present to Parliament the mid-year budget review as well as present the true state of the economy.
Ahead of the presentation, government has rejected the gloomy economic prediction of the Minority in Parliament, promising to revive the economy, which it says has been battered by Covid-19.
“If the NDC diagnosis of the problem is the fact that we are not able to generate enough revenue to meet up our expenditure, then the answer does not rest with IMF. We all know that COVID is a global problem that has affected everybody including the rich nations of the world.”
Deputy Finance Minister, Dr John Kumah says though its debt levels are rising, running to the IMF is not an option for government.
He reveals the mid-year budget review will revitalise the economy.
“So, if the less endowed countries of the world are asking for debt relief on the basis of COVID, you should put it in context, but that is not to say that we are going to run to IMF to seek for what the NDC will call policy credibility and that kind of thing. We are working on redeeming the economy and putting it on path of revitalization,”he said.
The Ministry in a release indicated that presentation would provide the economic and fiscal performance of the economy for the first half of 2021 as well as provide an update on the implementation of key programmes, including, strategies by the government to create employment for Ghanaians in general and the youth in particular.
It said the Mid-year review would also highlight the status of the implementation of the Ghana Care ‘Obaatanpa’ Programme that sought to revitalize and transform the economy to pre-pandemic times.
“The review is also expected to focus on revenue, expenditure, and financing performance for the first half of 2021 and provide an overview of the implementation of the 2021 Budget,” it added