Parliament approves GH¢6b 2013 first quarter budget

Parliament on Wednesday authorized the withdrawal of some GH¢6 billion from the Consolidated Fund to meet government’s expenditure on public services for the first quarter of next year pending the approval of 2013 budget.

The House gave the approval for the expenditure in advance of the appropriation for the 2013 fiscal year  in accordance with Article 180 of the Constitution, the Financial Administration Act, 2003(Act654) and the Standing Orders of the House.

Out of the approved amount of GH¢6,067,600,241.00, the total expenditure for the first quarter is projected at GH¢5,297,275,281, representing 6.6 percent of Gross Domestic product (GDP).

This amount is expected to comprise recurrent expenditure of GH¢4,034,390,664 and a capital expenditure of GH¢1,262,884,618.

Total Budget for the first quarter contains an overall deficit balance of GH¢958,905,695 representing 1.2 percent of GDP. This deficit is the excess of projected expenditure over revenue from January to March.

According to the report of the Finance Committee of Parliament, presented on the floor of Parliament by Committee Chairman James Avedzi, before the approval of the amount, total revenue and grants for the first quarter of next year is expected to gross GH¢4,338,369,587, equivalent to 5.4 percent of GDP.

A total tax revenue for the period is also expected to amount to GH¢3,116,986,187 whilst non-tax revenue is likely to reach GH¢574,643,050.

Source: GNA