Ghana’s tax revenue for third quarter 2012 is GH¢8.6b, salary payments rise by 65.8%

In the first three quarters of 2012, Ghana’s tax revenue was GH¢8.6 billion, and the payments of salaries and personal emoluments have risen 65.8%.

The figures on tax revenue from preliminary data from the Ministry of Finance as published by the Bank of Ghana, represents a year-on-year growth of 26.1 per cent.

Non-tax revenue was GH¢1.3 billion, and grants disbursements amounted to GH¢955.4 million, it said.

The Bank of Ghana in a press release said revenue and grants totaled GH¢11.1 billion for the first three quarters of 2012. This was 21.3 per cent higher than the outturn for the corresponding period in 2011, it said.

According to the central bank, total expenditures (including payments for the clearance of arrears and outstanding commitments) was GH¢16.2 billion due to higher recurrent spending which totaled GH¢10.8 billion, indicating a 52.8 percent increase over the outturn for the same period in 2011.

The high growth in recurrent spending, it said, was on account of higher levels of personal emoluments which went up by 65.8 per cent on a year-on-year basis mainly as a result of the implementation of the single spine salary structure (SSSS).

The Bank noted that interest payments amounted to GH¢1.6 billion, representing a 35 percent growth over the same period in 2011. This it said, was mainly the result of high domestic borrowing and associated high cost of debt servicing.

“Capital expenditure for the period totaled GH¢2.8 billion, compared with GH¢2.2 billion a year earlier, and a target of GH¢4.1 billion. This was on account of slow disbursement of project loans and grants,” it said.

The Bank indicated that the execution of the budget for the first three quarters of the year therefore resulted in an overall budget deficit of GH¢5.1 billion (7.3% of GDP), against a target of GH¢4.3 billion (6.2% of GDP). The excess was mainly accounted for by the implementation of the SSSS and arrears clearance which amounted to 1.1 percent of GDP. During the corresponding period in 2011, the overall budget deficit was equivalent to 1.9 percent of GDP.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi