Parliament to consider two subsidiary loan agreements

Two subsidiary financial agreements covering one billion dollars between Ghana and the China Development Bank Corporation, were laid before Parliament on Friday by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, for consideration .

The agreements include 150 million dollars package to finance the Information Communication Technology-enhanced Surveillance and Monitoring Facilities for the Oil and Gas Enclave Project, and 850 million dollars to finance the Western Corridor Gas Infrastructure Development Project.

Both agreements, under the master facility agreement between Ghana and the China Development Bank Corporation for three billion dollars for oil and gas development in the country, were laid by Mr Seth Terkper, a Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning.

Mr Fiifi Kwetey, another Deputy Finance Minister, answered a question on the floor of Parliament, posed by Member of Parliament for Agona West, as to why total domestic revenue registered a shortfall in the 2009 fiscal year.

Mr Kwetey said there was a shortfall of 1.6 percent in domestic tax revenue in 2009.

He explained that though Liquefied Petroleum Gas, Premix fuel, and marine gas oil witnessed higher delivery volumes, there was drastic reduction of about 90 per cent in excise duties on those products in 2009, leading to substantial shortfall in petroleum tax revenue during the period.

Mr Kwetey said import duties during that period also registered a shortfall of 9.8 percent, primarily due to the non-restoration of import duty on rice, yellow maize, wheat and vegetable oil that had been factored into projections.

“In spite of the fact that there was a shortfall relative to the target, the growth in total revenue in 2009 was significant at 17.5 percent” he said.