The minister of Finance, Kennet Kuntunkununku Ofori Atta is scheduled to present the 2023 budget and Financial statement at the house of parliament today in accordance with the Public Financial Management Act, 921, 2016 and with regulation 152 (2) of the Financial Administration Regulations.
The 2020-2023 Budget Calendar outlines the programs and activities for effective budget coordination and submission of government’s macroeconomic policy statement and budget to Parliament.
Ahead of the special event, Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has urged the Majority and Minority sides of Parliament to work in close collaboration to get a feasible budget program that will propel the Ghanaian economy onto the path of recovery.
In a post on social networking site, Twitter, the Minister hinted that the government’s economic blueprint for next year which would be presented to Parliament on Thursday, November 24, 2022, would l focus on prudent economic policies that will help reboot the economy, hence, the need for collaboration between both sides of the house.
“The 2023 budget is supposed to be the foundation of our recovery. Majority and Minority will have to work together in the national interest to arrive at a feasible budget program,” he tweeted.
Hinting at some key pillars of the budget, the Minister said it will focus on restoring macroeconomic stability, arresting the escalating cost of living, achieving moderate growth and completing ongoing government projects across the country.
He said the budget statement is a prerequisite for securing an IMF deal and therefore must be carefully crafted in order to get the buy-in of all segments of society.
Besides that a leading member of the New Patriotic Party, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, has appealed to the Minority caucus to join the Majority in ensuring that the 2023 budget is read and approved without hitches.
National executives and the Council of Elders of the NPP on Tuesday stepped in to resolve the impasse between the NPP members of the Majority Caucus and the President over the demands for the sacking of the Finance Minister.
A statement jointly signed by the Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh and the General Secretary of the NPP, Justin Koduah as a resolution to the ongoing impasse, urged the Majority MPs to put their demands on ice until negotiations for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bail-out are completed.
In a tweet on Wednesday, Mr Otchere-Darko who is also a cousin of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said the passage of the 2023 budget is critical to the country’s revenue generation measures.
“Thursday’s 2022 budget is crucial. It can’t suffer a fate similar to the 2022 budget and its revenue measures. It could completely derail negotiations with the Fund if not passed. Critical to this are its revenue generation measures. We plead the NDC joins NPP in this for Ghana.”
