Deputy Finance Minister, John Kumah in agreement with the Minority in Parliament has stated that enough revenue is needed to be raised to meet the expenditure of the country.
According to him, if the country is not able to raise enough revenue, it will be difficult to spend. He further added that the economy of the country is such that it is run on a deficit, requiring borrowing and introduction of taxes to keep up the difference.
Speaking on Okay FM’s 'Ade Akye Abia' Morning Show, John Kumah noted that the Akufo-Addo government projected Ghc74 billion revenue for the 2021 budget for the entire year whereas the actual expenditure required for the entire year to keep the country going is Ghc113 billion.
He explained that with the deficit of Ghc49 billion, the Akufo-Addo government has to find other means, through bonds and loans to raise extra revenue to match the difference and use some of the revenues to pay off debts incurred by the previous government.
“In Ghana, the economy is run on deficit . . . in the 2021 budget, the government is projected to raise Ghc74 billion revenue for the entire year in taxes and grants including Covid-19 levy, banking sector levy and taxes on fuel. The appropriation for the entire year is about Ghc113 billion and so if you have a Ghc74 billion budget and you need Ghc113 billion to keep the country going, what are you going to do with the deficit of Ghc49 billion? You need to find ways to get the extra revenue to match the difference,” he pointed out.
Touching on the history of Eurobonds in the country, the Ejisu lawmaker posited that the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has gone for the highest cost of Eurobond in 2015 and 2016 for almost 14 per cent.
He reiterated that the Akufo-Addo government has to go for the cheapest rate profiling in order to clear the expensive bonds that the past NDC government went for.
“So if the NDC is not seeing what we have used the bonds for, let them know that we have used some of them to settle their debts and also put things in order so that the entire nation will be in comfort and create fiscal space for other economic activities,” he indicated.
Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com
| Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. |
