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Ken Ofori Atta presents maiden Budget
The maiden Budget Statement of the Akufo-Addo government will be delivered in Parliament today, March 2, 2017.
This is in fulfillment of Article 179 of the 1992 Constitution. It will be Ken Ofori Atta’s first major economic statement presented on the authority of President Nana Akufo-Addo.
The budget to a large extent will be broadly in line with expectations of Ghanaians, pulling more people out of poverty, and creating a sustainable path of growth for the country’s economy.
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There is a legitimate expectation of the average class of people to see a reduction of their burden of taxation in the Budget while economists continue to make a case for the nominal rate of taxation to be kept at a lower slab for the taxpayer.
The 2017 budget will focus mainly on tax reforms and Ghana’s debt management.
This is according to a report by GN research released.
The institute argues that many of the economic challenges that led Ghana to IMF’s Extended Credit Facility under the Mahama administration are still lurking.
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Many have argued that the NPP government may struggle to implement its manifesto promises because of the rising public debt of GHC122 billion and a double-digit budget deficit the new administration inherited.
But Ofori-Atta said that Ghanaians would be "impressed with the kind of solutions" that "government may have found within the short time."
The Budget Statement would also be expected to spell out sources of funding for a number of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) promised policies including free senior high school (SHS) and reduction in fuel and utility tariffs.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said government would fund the cost of public SHS for all those who qualify for entry from the 2017/2018 academic year onwards.
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This is critical to Ghanaians since the New Patriotic Party (NPP) won the December 2016 election on the back of the heavy promises on pro-poor policies and socio-economic interventions.
Earlier, Ken Ofori-Atta has said that the budget will be made up of policies to help develop businesses in Ghana.
He said the promises made during in the State of the Nation Address will be implemented.
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