To pass the three revenue legislation currently before the House, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, minister of information, has urged the Minority in Parliament to cooperate with the majority.
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2 years agoon
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To pass the three revenue legislation currently before the House, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, minister of information, has urged the Minority in Parliament to cooperate with the majority.
They are the Growth and Sustainability Amendment Bill, the Excise Duty Amendment Bill, and the Income Tax Amendment Bill.
The Government is attempting to approve these bills to add another GH4 billion in domestic revenue annually.
In an interview with journalists on Tuesday, March 28, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah, a member of Parliament for Ofoase Ayirebi, stated: “To our colleagues in the Minority, I think it is apparent that we need to work together to achieve a particular purpose for the country.
Sometimes we get worked up, but let’s consider the national interest.
The Paris Club, China, and our external creditors are with us now and are watching to see whether we can help ourselves. The world is prepared to assist us. To those in the Government, minorities, and business organizations, I request that we work to pass these revenue laws to close the GH4 billion shortfall.
Dr. Ernest Addison, governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), encouraged the House to prioritize Bil.
He claimed that the Monetary Policy Committee had recognized that the fiscal policy had been established on a course of consolidation by the budget declaration for 2023.
He said this was consistent with critical elements agreed upon with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at the Staff Level in December 2022.
According to Dr. Addison, the domestic debt exchange program the Government initiated, new revenue measures, and structural fiscal reforms will significantly reduce debt service and assist in generating budgetary flexibility.
On Monday, March 27, he spoke at the 111th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) press conference in Accra. He stated the fiscal outlook depends on funding the budget, which will necessitate finishing the domestic debt exchange program and obtaining the necessary financing guarantees from bilateral donors. There are signs that these conversations are going well.
The passage of the revenue bills that are currently before Parliament must be given priority, according to those above, stated Dr. Addison.
He added that a Memorandum of Understanding on zero financing to the budget, which will soon be signed, has been finalized under the Staff Level Agreement with the IMF by the Bank of Ghana and the Ministry of Finance.
“The necessary preliminary procedures to advance Ghana’s program to the IMF Executive Board will therefore be completed with the passage of the pertinent revenue laws by Parliament.
To place the economy firmly on a path of recovery, including sustainable growth and disinflation, he said, “this will be crucial.”
A high-level ministry mission to China last week was led by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta to hold bilateral discussions with his Chinese counterpart and other Chinese officials.
According to the Finance Ministry, Mr. Ofori-Atta had discussions in China that were quite productive and motivating.
The Government declared that they were eager to obtain outside assurances very soon.
“I’ve already had a lot of great and uplifting meetings in China! Even as we send our unpaid domestic revenue bills home, we look forward to obtaining external assurances soon. great development on many fronts… On Friday, the Office of the Finance Minister tweeted, “#ResolvingTogether #GhanaFirst.”
In addition, Mr. Ofori-Atta informed China Finance Minister Liu Kun about the government’s Domestic Debt Swap Program as a sign that Ghana was prepared to adjust its fiscal course.
In reply, Mr. Kun said that “the long-standing and flourishing relationship between Ghana and China imposes on us a responsibility to help” and that “we realize that these are short-term issues that we as responsible creditors remain committed to resolving.”
The Chinese Finance Minister continued expressing his nation’s desire that multilateral and commercial creditors equally share the burden by participating fully.
Mr. Kun said, “China authorities have faith in Ghana’s economic management and long-term economic viability.”
China, he continued, “believes in supporting sustainable development and debt sustainability.”
He made these remarks when Mr. Ofori-Atta led a high-level ministry group to China to hold bilateral discussions with his Chinese counterpart and other Chinese officials.
Source: 3news.com
