The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta presented the 2023 budget after several weeks of attempts to prevent the Finance Minister from discharging his statutory duty.
Both factions of MPs in Ghana’s parliament opposed Ken Ofori Atta from reading the 2023 budget due to the failing Ghanaian economy and his inability to salvage same.
The NPP MPs however took a dramatic turn from their earlier decision to boycott the Finance Minister’s presentation of the 2023 budget in parliament.
The 2023 budget was read by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta on November 25, 2022 adding certain statutory reports.
Right Honourable Speaker, Honourable Members of Parliament, on the authority of the President of the Republic of Ghana, and in accordance with the requirement under Article 179 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, I present to you the 2023 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Mr. Speaker, I beg to move that this House approves the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana for the year ending 31st December, 2023.
I wish to assure this House of my strong commitment and unflinching cooperation in our collective efforts to secure an historic IMF programme very soon; a programme that will assist the country in its post-covid recovery efforts.
But Mr. Speaker, the President of the Republic who is in Qatar, enjoins us to remember Nehemiah when he said ‘Let us rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and we will no longer be in disgrace. They replied “Let us start rebuilding. So they began to work.
Below are excerpts of his presentation.
- Increased VAT rate by 2.5 percent to directly support our roads and digitalization agenda;
- Fast-tracking of the implementation of the Unified Property Rate Platform programme in 2023.
- Review of the E-Levy Act and more specifically, reduce the headline rate from 1.5% to one percent (1%) of the transaction value as well as the removal of the daily threshold.
Boosting Local Productive Capacity.
Cut imports of public sector institutions that rely on imports either for inputs or consumption by 50%.
Ghana Audit Service and the Internal Audit Agency to ensure compliance.
Support the aggressive production of strategic substitutes.
Support large-scale agriculture and agribusinesses interventions through the Development Bank Ghana and ADB Bank.
Introduction of policies for the protection and incubation of newly formed domestic industries to allow them to make the goods produced here competitive for local consumption and also for exports.
Promoting Exports;
Expanding our productive capacity in the real sector of the economy and actively encourage the consumption of locally produced rice, poultry, vegetable oil and fruit juices, ceramic tiles among others.
To pursue efficiency in Government expenditures.
Implementation of the Government directives on expenditure measures.
Integrate public procurement approval processes with GIFMIS to ensure that projects approved are aligned with budget allocation
Review key government programmes to reflect relevance, promote efficiency, and ensure value for money.
Review the efficiency of Statutory Funds
To implement structural and public sector reform;
Impose a debt limit on non-concessional financing
Undertake major structural reforms in the Public Sector by reviewing the operations of 36 State-owned Enterprises, 8 Special Purpose Vehicles, 90 Joint Venture Companies, 38 Regulatory institutions, 68 Statutory Bodies and 6 Subvented Agencies.
Enforce compliance with legal and regulatory framework on foreign exchange.
Initiate measures to overhaul the tax structures in the extractive industry.
Expand the gold purchase programme by the Bank of Ghana to support FX Reserve accumulation, promote an LBMA certified gold refinery in Ghana and promote local currency stability.
To safeguard the social protection programmes;
Expand social protection programmes such as LEAP, School Feeding, and NHIS for the vulnerable and socially excluded.
The budget, which is typically read in the afternoon, was read early hours on Thursday. Many Ghanaians have slammed the President’s departure to Qatar ahead of Black Star’s game while the budget was being read and reading the budget prior to the Black Stars game with Portugal just to distract Ghanaians attention.
