A Member of Parliament’s Finance Committee Isaac Adongo has pledged his support to the Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta in finding a redress to Ghana’s fiscal deficit of GH¢9.5 billion caused by the outbreak of the novel COVID-19.
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta projected a loss of more than GH¢9.5 billion in revenue due to the unexpected negative impact of COVID-19 on economic activities in Ghana and around the globe.
Ken Ofori Atta told Parliament on Monday while delivering a policy statement on the impact of the pandemic on the Ghanaian economy that a decline in import volumes and values, as well as the slowdown in economic activities, will lead to shortfalls in both import duties and other tax revenues.
“A recalibration of the 2020 Fiscal Framework underpinning the approved 2020 Budget to reflect the fiscal impact of the coronavirus, without incorporating measures, shows that the overall fiscal deficit will increase from the programmed GHS18.9 billion (4.7% of GDP) to GHS30.2 billion (7.8% of revised GDP).
Also, the primary balance will correspondingly worsen from a surplus of GHS2.811 billion (0.7% of GDP) to a deficit of GHS5.6 billion (1.4% of GDP),” Mr Ofori Atta told Parliament.
Source: mynewsgh.com