US Embassy in Ghana operating on residual budget due to shutdown – Official

The United States Embassy in Accra is operating on a residual budget because of the partial shut down by the government, an Official of the Embassy said on Friday.

The official explained that the residual budget was insufficient for the operations of the embassy and should the shut down continue, the Embassy will have to lay off non-essential staff members to enable them sustain their operations.

The Official who pleaded anonymity spoke to the media on how the US government shut down was affecting the embassy’s operations.

A Residual budget is budget which has not been used therefore rolled over unto the following year.

The Embassy Official said that they were still using the budget of 2013, explaining that the US fiscal calendar starts from October 1 and end on September 30.

The Official, however, said the shutdown will not affect Ghanaians directly since they continue to have meetings with stakeholders and the visa section continues to operate.

The Official expressed the wish that the shut down will be short-lived to enable them continue with their operations smoothly and move forward.

The United States government begun a shut down on October 1 following failure by the congress to agree on a new budget.

The US government has not undergone a shutdown since 1995-96, when services were suspended for a record 21 days.

By Hannah Awadzi