Chairman of parliament’s Finance Committee, Kwaku Kwarteng, has appealed to the Legislature to consider making sacrifices in a bid to protect the public purse in the face of economic hardship facing the country.
According to him, it is time for Parliament to find other ways it can cut cost. Mr Kwarteng explained that Speaker, Alban Bagbin constantly reminds legislators that they are the “representatives of the people”, as such, Parliament should not just be an “oversight” of the Executive, but they must lead by example.
“Are there ways the leadership of Parliament can cut cost as Ghana seeks to bridge the gap between our revenue and expenditures. Not only should we [Parliament] be approving and supporting government in these initiatives, we as Parliament must also lead by example… Are we going to deal with sole sourcing procurement by the House? … Should we continue, for example, to procure these glossy calendars and glossy diaries year-on-year for Parliament for which we have very little utilisation?”
Mr Kwaku Kwarteng
Mr Kwarteng made these revelations after Mr Bagbin expressed regret that the budgets of the executive often find the government spending above their revenue sometimes unlawfully. The Chairman for parliament’s finance committee emphasized that it is time to “cap the members of Parliament for the Republic of Ghana”.
“It is not enough for members of Parliament to be out there calling out the Executive and asking the Executive to demonstrate commitment to fiscal prudence, we ourselves must set the example”.
Mr Kwaku Kwarteng
Various governments have been criticised for waste while imposing a variety of taxes on Ghanaians to raise revenue. In the 2022 budget, Ghanaians were slapped with yet another batch of new taxes and charges.
Among the announcements in the 2022 budget were the 1.75 percent electronic transaction levy and the reversal of the discounts on import benchmark values.
Former deputy finance minister vows to forgo some privileges
Following this, Ranking Member of Parliament’s Finance Committee, Cassiel Ato Forson, revealed that he is willing to forgo some privileges he enjoys as a lawmaker for the sake of the country’s development.
Mr Forson vowed to make deliberate efforts in support of the cause. To validate his assertions, he disclosed that he is personally willing to sacrifice some benefits such as “ex-gratia and car loans for the purpose of the reforms we need in the country”.
“It is important for the President to reduce his convoy anytime he is traveling because the fuel is indeed sponsored by the State. It is important for His Excellency the President to stop all luxury he is engaging in. It should start from them, not just the Member of Parliament”.
Mr Cassiel Ato Forson
The former Deputy Finance Minister equally warned that the country’s economy will crash if pragmatic steps are not taken to reduce expenditure. He intimated that it is a fact that Ghana’s expenditure in 2020 is a “complete outlier” in the whole of Africa.
“The fiscal deficit in most African countries was 7% on average. Ghana’s fiscal deficit was 15.6%. The wages of election year expenditure are ‘Sadoses’ and if we don’t deal with it, the economy will crash into an intensive care unit and that’s not what we want”.
Mr Cassiel Ato Forson
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