High Hopes Await 2023 Mid-Year Budget Review Presentation Today

The Ghanaian public is full of high expectations as Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta presents the 2023 mid-year budget review to Parliament today, Tuesday, July 31, 2023.

This was after two previous cancelations from the originally scheduled July 27, 2023 to July 25, 2023, only to be cancelled again until further notice before July 31 was agreed upon.

Members of the general public and some lawmakers raised red flags amid speculations about reasons behind the continues rescheduling of the budget review until today.

The Finance Ministry in a statement confirmed the availability of the sector minister to the task “In accordance with Section 28 of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921), the Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review of the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana for the 2023 Financial Year, is expected to be presented to Parliament on Monday, 31st July, 2023,”

The presentation will provide an update on the implementation of the 2023 Budget, with insights into the economic and fiscal performance for the first half of the year.

It will discuss policies implemented to stabilize the economy, promote growth and provide social protection for the vulnerable as outlined in the IMF-supported Post COVID-19 Programme for Economic Growth (PC-PEG).

In focusing on the outlook, the budget-review statement will outline the critical imperatives to restore macroeconomic stability and accelerate our economic transformation.

The issues that will be highlighted include structural reforms in expenditure commitment control and arrears clearance; debt management; financial stability and a growth agenda, amongst others.

“In line with usual practice, we wish to indicate that Government will undertake the Post-Budget Engagements to explain the various policy choices to the public,” the Ministry of Finance added in its statement.

Citizens are hopeful that the government will use the review to reduce taxes, aggregate the various taxes, and provide more funding for the educational sector and the school feeding programme.

They also expressed concern about the high unemployment rate among young people and the shortage of fertilizer in the country.