Budget allocation to MMDAs to be slashed by 20% - Deputy finance minister

Slashing of MMDAs Budget in line with govt fiscal consolidation measurers – MP

Budget of MMDAs slashed due to delay in passage of e-levy – Dr Kumah

We are making sure that we don’t over-run 2022 budget - Dr Kumah

A Deputy Finance Minister, Dr John Ampontuah Kumah, has said government would slash its budgetary allocation for Municipal,

Read full articleMetropolitan and District Assemblies (MMDAs) by 20 percent for the first quarter of 2022.

In an interview on Asaase radio’s ‘The Asaase Breakfast Show’, Dr Kumah explained that the 20 percent reduction was a result of the delay in the passage of the e-levy and the suspension of the benchmark discount policy reversal.

“Because the E-Levy has delayed and even the reversal of benchmark value has delayed, government has announced that first-quarter release to all MMDAs will be discounted by 20%."

“So, there is clear commitment, you raise and you spend. You don’t spend what you don’t have. So we are going to ensure that we stay within the strict measures of the revenue raised,” Dr Kumah said.

The deputy minister, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ejisu, added that the slashing of the budget of the MMDA’s would also help the government reduce its expenditure in line with its fiscal consolidation measures.

“And so that is a clear indication that government is also looking at expenditure rationalisation and making sure that we don’t over-run the budget. Also, if you look at the growth of revenue for 2022, we are looking at about 40% growth… and if you are looking at expenditure, we are looking to spend extra 25%, so that tells you that we are actually slowing on expenditure to ensure fiscal consolidation.”

“We believe we will pass E-Levy, we believe once E-Levy is passed we will stay within budget targets, …it is ok to have positive ratings from all the agencies, it only shows confidence,” he added.