Mid-year budget uninspiring – Agbana

Deputy National Youth Organizer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Edem Agbana has said that the mid-year budget statement presented to parliament by the Finance Minister is uninspiring.

He said the budget does not inspire hope for the youth of this country.

“Demons and principalities budget, what I heard is not inspiring. Usual rhetoric’s with no concrete plans to address the fundamental issues affecting the economy. The demons are in the details,” he said in a tweet after the budget reading on Thursday July 29.

For his part, the Member of Parliament for Nsawam-Adoagyiri Frank Annoh-Dompreh said the mid-year budget shows that Ghana is slowly but surely making a recovery from the effect of the virus.

Also in a tweet, he said “The Mid-Year Budget Review demonstrates clearly that despite the ravages of coronavirus, Ghana is slowly but surely making a recovery.

“The 1M Jobs Initiative & GHc 100 billion GhanaCARES programme will be key in stimulating SMEs & sustainable growth for our country.”

Finance Minister Mr Ofori Atta told Parliament that for the first time in the history of the fourth republic, the exchange rate did not see a spike after an election year.

He explained that cumulatively, from the beginning of the year to date the exchange rate has depreciated by 0.6 percent against the US dollars and appreciating by 3.6 percent against the Euro.

“For the first time in the fourth republic, the exchange rate did not see a spike after an election year.

“Cumulatively, from the beginning of the year to date the exchange rate has depreciated by 0.6 percent against the US dollars and appreciating by 3.6% against the Euro," he stressed.

He further told the House that he did not come to ask for more money from the House in the mid-year budget.

He also said he did not come for more taxes rather, he came to update the House and the country on the performance of the economy during the first half of the year.

“I have not come here today to ask for more money, I have not come to ask for more taxes, I have come to update the house on the performance of the economy for the first half of the year,” he said amidst claps from members of Parliament.

A senior lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School Dr Lord Mensah has also said he is satisfied with the statement.

Dr Lord Mensah told Dzifa Bampoh on the First Take on 3FM that “I will say indeed I was somehow satisfied. I think for once the cry of Ghanaians has fallen into the good ears of the economic manager.

“If you look at the situation on the ground now, The Finance Minister and his team couldn’t have afforded than to maintain the status quo to ensure that we stay within the fiscal appropriation that we called for.

“If you look at our debt situation and then happenings across the globe I was not expecting the Finance Minister to request for more money to revise the budget deficit that was read in November for 2021.

“Clearly, it shows that as a country we have positioned ourselves to be conserved, to be prudent in our call for money. The situation is not that easy.”