Fiscal deficit Archives - Wontumi Online

05 Jun

Ghana’s Fiscal Adjustment Underway, Quarter 1 Data Shows – Report

wontumionlineBusinessExpenditure, fiscal adjustment, Fiscal deficit, IC Securities, Primary balance, Revenue

A lower-than-targeted primary deficit indicates that Ghana’s fiscal adjustment is underway, IC Research, the analytical arm of IC Securities has stated. The country recorded a primary deficit of ¢596 million (0.1% of Gross Domestic Product) in the first quarter of 2023, against the target deficit of ¢4.6 billion (0.6 percent of GDP). According to IC Research, fiscal adjustment is underway, with the help of expenditure containment. The revenue and expenditure dynamics revealed that the fiscal adjustment in quarter one of 2023 was largely driven by expenditure controls instead of the revenue-based consolidation envisaged in the 2023 budget. The Treasury’s budget…

19 Apr

Economic Instability: We Have Been Indisciplined; We Don’t Learn From Our Mistakes – IEA To Government

wontumionlineBusinessDr. John Kwakye, Fiscal deficit, Inflation, Institute of Economic Affairs

The Institute of Economic Affairs has expressed worry about the repetition of past mistakes by governments which has made the Ghanaian economy unstable over the years. According to the economic think tank, the indiscipline in managing the country’s finances has caused the high fiscal deficits and consequently high inflation and currency instability, forcing innocent Ghanaians and businesses to pay for the mismanagement. In a paper on “Institutionalising Fiscal Discipline and Macroeconomic Stability for Sustained Growth in Ghana: The Constitutional Pathway”, Lead Researcher, Dr. John Kwakye said Ghana has a long history of fiscal indiscipline and this is evident in its…

13 Apr

Ghana’s Fiscal Deficit To End 2023 At 7.3% Of GDP – IMF

wontumionlineBusinessApril 2023 Fiscal Monitor Report, Fiscal deficit, imf, Primary balance

The International Monetary Fund is projecting a marginal reduction in Ghana’s fiscal deficit to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 7.3% in 2023, from the 9.9% recorded in 2022. This is coming despite a significant cut in government expenditure and expected improvement in revenue. According to its April 2023 Fiscal Monitor Report, the fiscal deficit will however increase to 8.4% of GDP in 2024. This indicates that the country’s fiscal economy will still experience financing challenges. The fiscal deficit to GDP will then lower to 7.3% in 2025. It will subsequently go down to 5.9%, 5.3% and 5.4% of GDP in…

14 Oct

IMF Forecasts Fiscal Deficit Of 9.2% Of GDP For Ghana In 2022

wontumionlineBusinessFiscal deficit, imf, Primary balance

The International Monetary Fund is forecasting a fiscal deficit of 9.2% of Gross Domestic Product for Ghana in 2022. This is coming despite a significant cut in expenditure and expected improvement in revenue. The deficit is slightly lower than the 11.4% it projected for 2021. It is however higher than government’s revised 6.6%, captured in the Mid-Year Budget Review. Based on the figures, the country’s fiscal deficit to GDP is higher than all its peers in Sub-Sahara Africa. Zambia follows closely with a fiscal deficit of 9.1% of GDP in 2022. The Fund said in its October 2022 Fiscal Monitor…