Graphic Business, Stanbic Bank hold breakfast meeting on Monday, Oct 7
Election years have generally been characterised by fiscal pressures through infrastructural demands by the citizens, pushing governments to spend beyond their planned expenditures leading to wide fiscal deficits.
This situation has led to a surge in the country’s public debt as governments have had to rely on borrowing to finance the huge fiscal deficits.
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With election 2020 just at the corner, and with the Minister of Finance set to present his 2020 budget to Parliament next month, the Graphic Business, in partnership with Stanbic Bank, will on Monday, October 7, this year bring together economists, captains of industry, experts and policymakers to discuss how the nation could learn from lessons from the past to avoid huge budget deficit in 2020.
The breakfast meeting, which is on the theme: ‘Election cycles, democratic governance and fiscal stability’, will have speakers such as Associate Professor at the Department of Economics at the University of Ghana, Professor Eric Osei-Assibey, and a Senior Technical Advisor to the Minister of Planning, Dr Kodjo Esseim-Abrampa.
Let us respect the rules
Speaking in an interview with the Daily Graphic ahead of the breakfast meeting, the Executive Director of the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS), Professor Newman Kusi, urged the government to respect the new rules that had been set regarding fiscal deficit targets.
“If you look at our history, every election year we exceed our budget expenditure, but for next year we have established fiscal rules and also set up a Fiscal Responsibility Council so I will expect that this institution and the rules will be respected,” he stated.
“This means that the Fiscal Council must also open its eyes and monitor government expenditure, so by the end of the year we won’t have this huge deficit that we will need to borrow money to pay,” he added.
Revenue mobilisation
Prof. Kusi also pointed out that the issues surrounding domestic revenue mobilisation was very crucial, especially in an election year where the government needed more money to spend.
He, therefore, advised the government to put in place concrete measures to shore up domestic revenue.
“Mobilising more domestic revenue is very important because one of the policy directions of the government is building a ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ which means that we should mobilise enough resources to support our development,” he said.
Implication of free SHS
The executive director called for a relook at the implication of the free senior high school (SHS) programme.
“I don’t think as a country we have looked at the full implication of the free SHS policy. It is a very laudable programme and it is part of the social protection programmes, but with the first batch of the free SHS students completing next year, have we assessed how ready the universities are to absorb them?
“Free SHS will increase the intake. Have we prepared for them to get access into universities, given the fact that most government universities are complaining about infrastructure and accommodation?
“This is an interesting issue that the budget should take a look at,” he said.
