Finance Minister to present supplementary budget today

The Minister of Finance, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor will present a supplementary budget to parliament today,Tuesday August 25, 2009. Parliament is on recess till October, but has been convened on emergency.

The supplementary budget is being presented as the government raises public spending.

When the current administration took office in January 2009, President John Atta Mills promised to run an “austere budget” and cut public spending.

In the first half of the year, the country’s fiscal deficit fell to 3.4 percent of gross domestic product from 5.7 percent a year earlier.

When he presented the 2009 budget in March, Dr. Duffuor said that the country is aiming to cut its budget deficit to 9.4 percent of GDP this year, from 14.9 percent last year. Growth is likely to slow to about 5.9 percent from 7.3 percent in 2008, he said.

President Mills also said during the State of the Nation address to parliament that the government will spend wisely.

Government is however, rasing public spending following pledges made by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to support government budget for the fiscal year 2009.

“If you are getting resources, then you can loosen up a bit,” Deputy Finance Minister, Seth Terkper had told the Bloomberg news service.
The ministry has also started planning for its 2010 budget, to be presented in November or December, Terkper told the publication.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi