Some financial observers have told Citi Business News government’s planned expenditure and projected revenue for 2017 will not contradict the IMF’s programme with Ghana.
The erstwhile John Mahama administration was expected to cut expenditure while revenue target was increased under the programme, even though it missed all the targets.
Speaking to Citi Business News on how the new government’s budget will fit the IMF’s expectation, economist, Dr. Ebo Tuckson maintained that the measures taken by government in the budget are on a good path.
He stated that the budget captures the ultimate goal of the IMF—reducing the wastage of public funds while spending in the critical areas of the economy.
“I think that the IMF will not have problems with what is going on, of course they’ve clearly told us, that is the path that we need to go on. We need to be on the path to ensure that we are going to generate enough revenue so that we do not go through fiscal deficit and if you look critically at the components of this budget that is what the current government is seeking to do over the short to media term,” he stressed.
Touching on the need to put the economy back on track, Dr. Tuckson explained that it is time to get the fundamentals right to push for economic growth.
“We need to put the economy into shape for the economy to be able generate its required revenue to fund the expenditure that is required for the economy,” he said adding that government was required to be innovative in order not to overburden the private sector.
He was of the view that even though some of the targets may not meet the IMF’s requirement, it is in line with the ultimate goal of the fund— to be fiscally disciplined and spend in critical areas of the economy.
“Whilst the target that we have set this year may not be in line with what we are supposed to set in 2017 under the ECF facility, I guess that there are issues that we can negotiate with the IMF on that,” he said.
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By:Lawrence Segbefia/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana