A member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Finance, Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei has told Citi News, government must embark on massive cut backs in its expenditure.
He is urging the Finance Minister to present a new budget that will reflect these cuts because government is still engaging in frivolous borrowing.
Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei was speaking to Citi News about the current economic challenges which has recently seen inflation hit 14.5 percent.
According to him, the statement the Finance Minister made on the floor of Parliament on April 1 “is almost like an April fool’s joke. He was repeating exactly what he had said in 2013 and 2014.”
He explained that the new budget can be in the form of “cutbacks in what is in the budget” adding that it is very possible for the government to find new sources of revenue “by tightening administration at the ports; there is no question and you can also cut expenditure.”
Dr. Akoto Osei advised government must negotiate a three-year time frame to pay all arrears because it is unwise for government to make projections for “too much revenue that you don’t have. That is bad planning.”
By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana