Deputy Minister of Finance, Abena Osei Asare, has expressed confidence in Ghana’s future under the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, describing it as ‘bright.’ She called on Ghanaians to support the NPP in preserving this promising outlook for the benefit of all citizens.
During the debate on the 2024 Mid-year budget review on Thursday, July 25, in Parliament, the Deputy Minister underscored the government’s economic management achievements, which she claimed have taken the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) by surprise.
She noted that the government has demonstrated fiscal discipline in an election year, budgeting 104.8 billion cedis and spending only 101 billion cedis from January to June 2024.
“We are 2.9% below what was budgeted,” she stated, emphasizing the government’s commitment to fiscal responsibility.
She further announced a reduction in the government’s appropriation from 259.1 billion cedis to 237.4 billion cedis, instead of seeking a supplementary budget.
“We are going to make sure we stay on course in optimizing the mobilization of domestic revenues and supporting SMEs,” she said.
Hon. Abena Osei Asare underscored the government’s commitment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program and mentioned that Ghana has received its third tranche of $360 million, bringing total disbursements to $1.56 billion.
She assured that the government is on track and disputed claims by the NDC that the administration has derailed the IMF program.
Speaking on the debt restructuring efforts, the Deputy Finance Minister revealed that the government has completed domestic and bilateral debt restructuring amounting to some $5.1 billion.
This, she said, has resulted in debt relief of $2.8 billion adding, “We have made significant savings and received reliefs to the tune of more than a billion Ghana Cedis.”
She expressed confidence in the government’s strategy and its ability and stressed that Ghana’s future is tied to the NPP. She assured the House that with a mindset of possibilities, the government will continue to perform and make progress.
“Mr. Speaker, we did this together, this progress is for everybody. It’s for our businesses, it is for the people of Atiwa East and the nation at large,” she stated.
