Ghana finance minister mid-year budget review: Mohammed Amin Adam say Ghana economy dey rebound

Ghana finance minister Dr Mohammed Amin Adam don tok say goment no dey ask for more money to finance goment activities as im present mid-year budget for parliament.

Di minister say goment “go dey efficient and strategic to promote growth.”

For election year, successive goments don dey spend more money but dis time di minister say “we go live within our means wia dey consistent wit di $3bn IMF programme di kontri dey under.”

Bifor di presentation, sabi pipo and oda Ghanaians don tok say goment gatz to scrap some taxes wia dey pressure di pipo.

For some, di Covid 19 levy wia dey impose 1% charge on all goods and services for Ghana as well as imports, gatz to go as di world don deal wit Covid 19 disease since 2021.

Already pipo don dey pay National health insurance levy (NHIL), GETFund levy, customs and excise duties on products, property rates, stamp taxes, payroll taxes, communication service tax, emissions levy, electronic transactions levy among oda taxes.

But di finance minister neva announce say dey remove any tax.

Dis na some of talking points from di presentation of di mid-year budget for parliament.

Di minster oga Mohammed Amin Adam tok say “goment don conclude di second review of di extended credit facility wit di IMF wia make dey release di 3rd tranche of $360m to di kontri.”

Wit dis money, di IMF now don give Ghana a total of $1.6bn out of di $3bn wia dem agree to give to di kontri to revive di economy wia don dey inside crisis.

“We don complete di debt restructuring program wit di official creditor committee wey result in $2bn debt relief – dis mean say Ghana neva go service our debt to our official creditors from 2023 to 2025.”

Di roads ministry under di minister Kwasi Amoako-Atta don cancel road tolls in 2021.

Pipo wia don dey work for dis tollbooth across di kontri lose dia jobs – dis pipo na pipo wey gatz disability.

Di speaker of parliament don tok at di time say di minister neva gat di right to cancel road tolls since im neva carry go parliament.

Goment tok at di time say dem go raise more dan di Gh ¢ 70m ($5m) wia di road tolls dey generate evri year thru di electronic transactions/transfer levy wia don dey charge 1.5% for every electronic transaction.

Despite di pressure from sabi pipo and odas say make goment carry di toll system come, dem tok say dey neva go do am.

But three years afta, di finance minister tok say goment don dey re-introduce di road tolls for 2025.

Di minister tok say “goment don give green light for di development of structure wey go make we implement road and bridge tolls for 2025.”

Dis na u-turn for di Nana Akufo-Addo goment, as dey continue to dey try to raise revenue to fund goment activities.

Customers of some fund management companies wia goment don shutdown bin dey protest say make goment pay dia locked up funds since 2018.

Goment thru di bank of Ghana close down di companies say dey neva renew dia license wey dey neva dey follow rules wia di central bank don give.

Many pipo don lose dia moni for dat shutdown wia dey now bin dey pressure goment to pay dia money.

Convener of di Gold Coast fund management customers tok say many of dia members don die since dey neva fit access dia money for dis companies.

Charles Nyame tok say “goment don dey insensitive wia we dey wonder how we go pay for medical bills and oda tins since our money don lock for six years.”

Im add say “we trust di system wey we invest our moni to secure our future na so goment don do we like dis – we no fit dey feed ourselves.”

Di group threaten say dey go campaign again di goment if dey no pay dia moni.

But as im dey deliver di midyear budget, finance minister oga Amin Adam tok say “cabinet don approve 1.5bn Ghana cedis ($97 m) to settle outstanding claims wey dey relate to di financial management companies.”

Di finance minister tok say inflation don dey decline as goment bin dey put in measures to deal wit di economic crisis.

Im also add say di exchange rate don stabilise despite di pressure wey dey di system.

“Di 18.9% depreciation rate to di US dollar as of June 2024 bin improvement ova di 22% wey di kontri record for di same period last year.”

Im add say “inflation at di end of June bin dey 22.8 % ,” na reduction from di 42.5% wia di kontri don record for June 2023 according to di statistical service.