By Elsie Appiah-Osei
Accra, March 29, GNA – Mr Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, Minister for Information, has pleaded with the Minority Caucus in Parliament to support the passage of the revenue Bills currently before the House.
He said the passage of the Bills would help the government secure the $3 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The Bills, comprising the Income Tax Amendment Bill; Excise Duty Amendment Bill and Growth and Sustainability Amendment Bill when passed are expected to generate approximately GH¢4 billion per year to supplement domestic revenue.
Mr Oppong-Nkrumah called for agreement on the bills among the Members of Parliament (MPs) to help the economy to recover.
“I am not too fixated on arguing with GUTA and AGI. We must find a very decent middle ground that allows us to close this gap for our collective good. To our colleagues in the Minority, I think it is clear that we need to work together to achieve a certain objective for the country. Sometimes, we are whipped up but let’s look at the country’s interest at this point.
“The world is ready to help us, China, the Paris Club and external creditors are all with us in a good place now and are looking at us to see if we can help ourselves. My appeal to those in government, Minority, economic groups is that, we must ensure that these revenue bills are passed to close this GH¢4 billion gap,” he said.
As part of measures to meet the criteria set by the IMF to qualify for a bailout, the government has completed tariff adjustment by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), Publication of the Auditor-General’s Report on COVID-19 spending, and Onboarding of Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) and Road Fund on Ghana integrated financial management information system (GIFMIS).
The international and domestic bond markets are shut for the financing of government programmes, forcing the government to rely on Treasury Bills and concessional loans as primary sources of financing for the 2023 fiscal year.
As a result, consideration and approval of fiscal measures by Parliament are critical for recovery from the current economic crisis.
GNA