2015 Budget Statement to Be Presented To Parliament Today

The Minister for Finance, Seth Emmanuel Terkper, will today present the 2015 Budget Statement and Financial Policy of the government before Parliament. Alfred Kwame Agbesi, Deputy Majority Leader, made this known on the floor of the House during a presentation of the Business Statement for the third week, ending 21st November. According to Hon. Agbesi, the Finance Minister will be moving a motion for the approval of the government�s budget as well as the 2015 Appropriation Bill, is expected to inform the nation of the projected macroeconomic out turn for December 2014 based on the actual data collected from January to September this year. The Minister, on July 16, this year appeared before the law makers and presented a revised macroeconomic framework and assumptions underlying the 2014 Budget that was presented to the House in November 2013. He told the House that the challenges in the energy sector, coupled with the rising inflation, interest rates, as well as exchange rate depreciation posed a strong downside risk to the achievement of the growth target for the year. However, based on the revisions, overall real GDP (including oil) growth was revised from 8.0 per cent to 7.1 per cent, while the non-oil real GDP growth was revised from 7.4 per cent to 6.6 per cent. Total revenue and grants for the 2014 fiscal year was also revised upwards from GH� 26,056.5 million to GH� 26,230.3 million, equivalent to 22.9 per cent of GDP. The estimate for total expenditure and arrears clearance was also revised upwards by GH� 1,331.1 million from GH� 35,027.3 million to GH� 36,358.3 million (31.7 per cent of GDP) mainly on account of higher wages and salaries, interest payments, foreign-financed capital expenditures and subsidies. The end year inflation target was also revised from 9.5 per cent to 13 per cent, overall budget deficit target was revised from 8.5 per cent of GDP to 8.8 per cent; and Gross International Reserves of not less than 3 months of import cover of goods and services. When the Finance Minister appears today, he will tell the nation whether the government was able to achieve those revised targets. He will also present the performances of the various sectors and sub-sectors and tell the nation how the ICT, financial and insurance, public administration and defense, social security, and health sub-sectors fared under the service sector. Mr. Terkper will also report on the contribution of the mining and quarrying, electricity, and construction sub-sectors to the overall performance of the industry sector as well as the crop, livestock and fishing sub-sectors to the agriculture sector. In terms of sector shares, the Finance Minister will tell the law makers how the various sectors contributed to the overall GDP. On monetary developments, Mr. Terkper will give the monetary aggregates for the year, interest rate, and exchange rate developments for the year. On fiscal performance of the government, he will present to the House, how revenue were mobilized as well as the government�s expenditure for the year. The Finance Minister will further present a report on the status of implementation of key policy initiatives of the government such as the measures to address the international reserves to restore the value of the cedi, the automated fuel adjustment and mitigating measures, measures to sustain the new pay policy, among others. Mr. Terkper will then present the targets for the year ending December 31, 2015 and how those targets would be achieved.