Dr. Isaac Doku, an Economist and Lecturer at the University of Education, Winneba, has advised government to reintroduce tolls on all public roads and bridges that was abolished in the 2022 budget to augment the government’s revenues.
This forms part of measures he expects from the government to improve its revenue mobilization which remains a challenge and below that collected annually by the country’s peers.
Although the tolling system has played a crucial role in funding the expansion of Ghana’s road infrastructure, the Finance Minister disclosed during the 2022 budget presentation on the floor of Parliament that tolling points created unpleasant situations and hence the decision to abolish them.
Dr. Isaac Doku expects the government to roll out massive measures from both the revenue and expenditure side in the upcoming budget to give hope to the people of Ghana and other stakeholders within the international community.
“Government should announce policy measures to reduce expenditure via downsizing the number of staffers and appointees among others. Measures to widen the tax net and increase revenues, example, bringing back the road toll [are also needed].”
Dr. Isaac Doku
Sharing his expectations on the 2023 budget with the Vaultz News, Dr. Isaac Doku also urged government to announce additional measures to bring down or stabilize fuel prices which despite stability at the international market, continue to rise in Ghana.
He expects that once the government rolls out realistic fiscal measures in the 2023 budget statement, it should be able to see a reduction in fiscal deficit which will go a long way to ensure debt sustainability in the West African nation.
Expectations on the 2023 budget are high and an Economist and Political Risk Analyst, Dr. Theo Acheampong, believes the budget will signal to the international community the government’s commitment and strategy to fix the broken economy sustainably. He warned that should the budget fail to do so appropriately, it could translate into a total loss of confidence from the international community which will further worsen the plight of the economy.
An Investment Advisory and Fund Management firm, Tesah Capital, also expects government to set realistic targets in the 2023 budget to give a better sense of the true state and outlook of the economy as the government negotiates with the IMF for a bailout and a possible debt restructuring with creditors.
Focus on restoring and sustaining macroeconomic stability
Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr John Ampontuah-Kumah, has already hinted that the 2023 budget statement and economic policy of the government will focus on restoring and sustaining macroeconomic stability.
The move, he said, was to address the economic challenges facing the country and ensure durable and inclusive growth and promote social protection.
Speaking at a two-day stakeholder engagement to seek the input of stakeholders into the 2023 budget and economic policy of the government, Dr Ampontuah-Kumah, said the 2023 budget would focus on measures to maximize revenue mobilization through the widening of the tax net.
He said the measures would also be introduced to enforce tax compliance and vigorously pursue the digitalization agenda to minimize revenue leakages.
According to the Deputy Finance Minister, credit ratings downgrades and the subsequent closure of the International Capital Market, tightening domestic financing conditions, high cost of borrowing following the increase in the monetary policy rate to address the high inflation, the depreciation of the cedi, and the high debt service burden, are continuously making funding of the budget very challenging.
However, Dr Ampontuah-Kumah assured that government would introduce efficiency measures in the use of public funds by reducing duplication of functions among covered entities and reducing waste. The Deputy Finance minister is confident that the policies and strategies being implemented and explored would help address the economic challenges the country is going through.
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