WEDNESDAY, 28TH OCTOBER, 2020
SUBMITTED BY
KEN OFORI-ATTA
MINISTER FOR FINANCE
ON THE AUTHORITY OF
HIS EXCELLENCY NANA ADDO DANKWA AKUFO-ADDO,
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA
1. Right Honourable Speaker, in accordance with Article 180 of
the 1992 Constitution, and in line with Standing Order 145 of
this Honourable House, on the authority of His Excellency the
President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, I beg to move that
this Honourable House approves by resolution the withdrawal
of the sum of Twenty-Seven Billion, Four Hundred and ThirtyFour Million, One Hundred and Eighty Thousand, Five Hundred
and Twenty Ghana Cedis (GH¢27,434,180,520) from the
Consolidated Fund for the purpose of meeting expenditure
necessary to carry on the services of Government in respect of
the period expiring three months of the Financial Year or on
the coming into operation of the Appropriation Act in respect
of 2021 Financial Year.
2. Mr. Speaker, this is also in line with Section 23 of the Public
Financial Management Act (PFM), 2016 (Act 921). I humbly
request the Hansard Department to capture the full document.
3. Mr. Speaker, permit me to extend the gratitude of His
Excellency the President for the support and cooperation
received from this august House during his first term of office.
Together with the abundant and abiding grace of God, this
Session of Parliament has been most vital in transforming the
economy and providing for a better future for our “fellow
Ghanaians”.
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4. Mr. Speaker, in 2017, when I had the privilege and blessing to
stand before you, I invoked “The miracle of the five (5) loaves
and two (2) fishes” to illustrate the predicament we found
ourselves. In using that miracle , I was declaring our faith and
hope in a God who can do much with little and in fact do
exceedingly above all we can ask or think and submitting that
we need not fear because the battle is the Lord’s.
5. Mr. Speaker, as it is evident to all not only have we turned the
economy around through hard work and innovative policies,
but we also have the courage to implement a GH¢100 billion
GhanaCARES (Obaatanpa) programme.. The diligent and
disciplined pursuit of the innovative policies have restored
macroeconomic stability, promoted inclusive growth and
transformed lives of millions of Ghanaians. Today, Mr. Speaker,
some 1.2 million Ghanaians are in Senior High School, almost
3 million of our children are in the school feeding programme.
We are exporting food through the Planting for food and jobs
programme and 1D1F is generating jobs all around. How far
indeed has the Lord brought us. This is the competence we
promised Ghanaians.
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6. Mr. Speaker, it is trite knowledge that data speak for itself.
Permit me to use the data to separate facts from opinions, even
if these opinions emanate from persons, or may I say fathers,
who should know better. The success of our focused
macroeconomic stabilization and fiscal consolidation
programme is evidenced by:
i. growing the economy, at an average rate of 7.0%
between 2017 and 2019 as compared with 2.8%
between 2014 and 2016;
ii. reducing inflation from 15.4 percent at end-December
2016 to 7.9 percent by the end-December 2019; the
lowest since the 4th Republic in 1992;
iii. maintaining an average fiscal balance below a 5% of GDP
threshold between 2017 and 2019 as compared to an
average of 6.3% in 2014 and 2016;
iv. improving gross international reserves to reach US$8.6
billion or about 4 months of import cover by February,
2020 as compared to 3.5 months of import cover in 2016;
v. successfully exiting the IMF-ECF programme in April 2019
which had been completely derailed by 2016.
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7. Mr. Speaker, leadership of any nation succeeds or fails on the
strength or weakness of how the economy is managed. A
leader who cannot run the economy is a leader who can never
be trusted to deliver. Leadership is about the economy and the
character of the leader. It is about knowing how to grasp the
problems, the expertise to find solutions, the courage to take
bold decisions, the conviction to stay the course, the
competence to get it fixed, the compassion to cushion the
impact on the people, and the vision to create new and
transforming opportunities for the people out of the situation.
I recall how in 2014, ‘according to a Bloomberg annual table’,
the cedi was the worst performing currency in the entire world,
only managing to perform better than the war-torn Ukraine’s
Hryvnia. Indeed, in dollar terms, the former President took an
economy that was 64 billion dollars in 2013 and shrunk it down
to 55 billion dollars in 2016. This means that after 4 years in
office, the Mahama administration managed to achieve an
unenviable record of reducing the Ghanaian Economy by
nearly 10 Billion USD. These, Mr. Speaker, are the facts.
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8. Mr. Speaker, in 2001, Ghana had no choice but to swallow her
pride and to sign up to the HIPC initiative, a legacy left by the
outgoing NDC government. Thankfully, President J.A. Kufuor
got us to completion point in record time and came out of
HIPC. By 2014, barely 2 years in office, President Mahama’s
‘homegrown’ economic policy had failed and Ghana signed up
once again onto an IMF programme. The Akufo-Addo Govt
took Ghana out of the IMF Programme in record time.
Ironically, those who mismanage the economy for us to come
and fix it are the one’s wishing Ghana ill. My message to them
is this; there is no turning back. HIPC is behind us. Economic
mismanagement is behind us. The economy is stronger today
than it was 4 years ago, and will continue to grow stronger
and stronger with 4 more years to do more for the people of
Ghana, with God’s help.
9. Mr. Speaker we must be careful as a nation to reject those
who return from the Promised Land, with a bad report to
subvert the spirit of our people and to reject leaders who
would take us back to Egypt.
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10.Mr. Speaker, in our quest to stabilize the economy, we have
also lowered the rate of debt accumulation, re-profiled our
debt, and, implemented a number of structural reforms in a
transparent manner for an efficient and effective management
of public debt.
11.Mr. Speaker, these significant macro-fiscal gains were
achieved in spite of having:
i. paid GH¢12 billion in excess energy capacity charges
which we inherited in 2017, and have kept the lights on;
ii. settled substantial part of the GH¢11 billion
outstanding arrears bequeathed to us;
iii. abolished 17 unproductive taxes to boost productivity of
the private sector;
iv. spent GH¢ 21.6 billion to clean-up a collapsing
financial sector and protected 4.6 million depositors
and 81,700 investors.
12.That is the competent governance, hard work and God’s hand
that has delivered us.
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13. Mr. Speaker, for fair-minded observers, the above
economic indicators are clear evidence of the sharp and stark
difference between a competent Akufo-Addo-led Government
and others.
14.Mr. Speaker, these gains have not been at the expense of our
promise to improve the welfare of fellow Ghanaians. In fact,
the issue of welfare is very dear to President Akufo-Addo and
his government. For this reason, we invested in excess of
GH¢15.7 billion on key flagship programmes.
15. Mr. Speaker, these flagship programmes have created the
platform for real economic transformation; strengthening
human capital through enhancing access to health care,
education and skills development, modernizing agriculture and
industry, delivering infrastructure across the country –
including a revitalised railway sub-sector – and creating jobs.
We have remained faithful with our budgets; Asempa in 2017,
Edwuma in 2018, Mpuntuo in 2019 and the prescient Nkosuo
and Nkabom budget of Covid 19 2020.
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16.Mr. Speaker, we have restored Nurses and Teachers Training
Allowances and implemented the Free SHS programme to
empower current and future generations, and to also ease the
financial burden on households. In addition to supporting
100,000 graduates through NABCO, we have lowered the net
tax burden of the Ghanaian. That is the care we promised
Ghanaians!
17. Mr. Speaker, achievements from the prudent macro-fiscal
policies and the resultant turnaround of the economy, amidst
unprecedented welfare-oriented interventions under the
flagship programmes have been fully tested by the outbreak of
the COVID-19 Pandemic since March, 2020.
18. Mr. Speaker, this pandemic continues to devastate countries,
disrupt productivity, threaten food security, multiply job losses,
and reduce incomes, particularly for the poorest, as well as
traumatic loss of lives. This year, the world is on course to
experiencing the deepest global economic contraction in the
post-war era, causing investments and trade to plunge.
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19. Mr. Speaker, the Ghanaian economy has also faced the health
and economic consequences of this pandemic which threatens
lives and livelihoods. By God’s Grace, COVID-19 has so far not
been as deadly due to our President’s leadership, thus , our
preoccupation has been on addressing the socio-economic
dislocations occasioned by this pandemic. We have moved
swiftly to mitigate the threats to lives and livelihoods by:
i. Implementing the GH¢1,342million Covid-19 Emergency
Preparedness and Response Plan to protect lives;
ii. Operationalising the GH¢1.2 Billion Coronavirus
Alleviation Programme (CAP) to support businesses;
iii. Launching a GH¢2 billion Guarantee Scheme to enable
SMEs borrow at a more affordable rate;
iv. Supporting the GH¢3 billion credit and stimulus package
by commercial banks in Ghana to revitalize industries,
especially pharmaceutical, hospitality, services and
manufacturing sectors;
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v. Offered strategic support in income increases and life
insurance in excess of GH¢ 320 million to incentivize
health workers and allied professionals;
vi. Supporting households and businesses with electricity and
water subsidies in excess of GH¢1.3 billion; and
vii. Funding the provision of cooked food to 1.83 million and
917,000 vulnerable persons within Accra & Kumasi
metropolis, respectively. This is the compassion Ghanaians
deserve, which we promised.
20. Mr. Speaker, Leadership is best tested in times of crisis.
Whether it is to do with the crisis of Dumsor, the crisis of
homegrown economic mismanagement or the imported crisis of a
global pandemic like the novel corona virus; it is when crises hit,
that the people see and feel who a real leader is and who is not.
Earlier in March, President Akufo-Addo told the nation ‘we know
how to bring the economy to back to life. What we do not know is
how to bring people back to life. We will therefore protect people’s
lives, then their livelihoods’. Mr. Speaker, those words were truly
profound and true to his character, the president has put his
leadership skills just where his mouth is. Government set out to
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protect people’s lives, and then their livelihoods as well. The whole
world and more importantly, the vast majority of Ghanaians know
that the President and his team have managed the Covid 19 crisis
far better than most countries in the world. Indeed our efforts have
been adjudged as among the best three in the world.
20. Mr. Speaker, the robustness of our macro-economic
fundamentals and the efficacy of Government’s COVIDmitigation measures have been borne-out by recent indicators.
According to the Bank of Ghana’s surveys in August 2020,
consumer confidence is bouncing back strongly and is
currently above pre-COVID-19 lockdown levels. Business
confidence has also increased, although below pre-lockdown
levels. About 95 percent of businesses surveyed showed
strong optimism, reflecting the improving macroeconomic
conditions, stability in the exchange rate, lower input prices,
moderation in lending rates, and positive industry prospects.
Accordingly, the projected GDP growth rate 2020 reported in
July has been revised from 0.9 percent to 1.9 percent to reflect
these dynamics. As the Bank of Ghana stated ‘the green shoots
of rebound in economic activity’ are already with us. We must
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be thankful to God for these encouraging developments.
21. This and other assessments provoke a degree of optimism and
reveals that the swift, bold, and effective measures
implemented by Government have been key in quickening the
pace of economic recovery. This is the competent leadership
we promised under President Akufo-Addo. Indeed, the
President’s decisive and compassionate leadership in these
challenging times have been internationally acknowledged and
has added to our reputation as the Black Star of Africa.
22. Mr. Speaker, our efforts to protect lives and preserve
livelihoods, coupled with the impact of the pandemic on
revenues and expenditures resulted in fiscal deficit of 11.4%
of GDP. As already indicated in the presentation to this august
House in July, we have a well-thought out Ghana Cares
Obaatanpa plan and strategy to return this economy to a more
sustainable fiscal path in the medium-term.
23. Mr. Speaker the 2020 Fiscal Framework which increased the
fiscal deficit from 4.7 percent of GDP to 11.4 percent in the
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2020 Mid-Year Review. The fiscal operations of the economy
for the January to September, 2020 period show that, on
provisional basis both revenues and expenditures exceeded
their respective targets resulting in the fiscal deficit of 9.0
percent of GDP, against a programmed deficit of 8.9 percent
of GDP. More specifically, total revenues and grants for the
period which totalled GH¢36.7billion exceeded the target of
GH¢35.7 billion by GH¢972.7million or 2.7 percent. Total
expenditures, including arrears clearance, on the other hand,
amounted to GH¢71.3 billion against a target of GH¢70.0 billion
showing a deviation of GH¢1.3 billion or 1.8% from target. The
overall fiscal deficit resulting from the revenues and
expenditure performance for the period through September
2020 is GH¢34.6 billion or 9.0 percent of GDP against a target
GH¢34.3 billion or 8.9 percent of GDP. The corresponding
primary balance was a deficit of GH¢15.7 billion or 4.1 percent
of GDP against the target of GH¢15.4 billion or 4.0 percent of
GDP.
24. Mr. Speaker, this means that we can now approach the next
financial year with increased optimism, largely because we
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already have a plan, and may I say, a track-record. We expect
growth to rebound strongly in 2021 at 5.7 percent as a result
of our implementation of the Transformation and Revitalization
phase of the Ghana CARES (Obaatanpa) Programme. In
addition, we have also scaled down the projected 2021 Fiscal
Deficit from 9.6 percent of GDP as reported in the Mid-Year
Review to 8.3 percent of GDP, reflecting the improved
revenues from the anticipated pick-up of economic activities
and a more rationalised public expenditure programme. With
this path, we expect a return to the fiscal responsibility
threshold of 5.0 percent of GDP fiscal deficit and a positive
primary balance earlier than the 2024 fiscal year previously
announced.
25. Mr. Speaker, I want to assure this House that we will recover,
we will revitalize, and we will transform the economy. We shall
pivot off the AFCFTA headquarters in Accra for Ghana to
become a dynamic regional hub. We have planted the seeds
for a fast-paced and more inclusive recovery. Recognizing the
role of capital and credit, we are certain that the cleaned-up
and revitalized financial sector will support our recovery efforts
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and sustain growth.
26. Mr. Speaker, let me give you a glimpse of our new
strengthened financial ecosystem which will facilitate credit
and investment to the private sector. We have established the
Ghana Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural
Lending (GIRSAL) to facilitate lending to the Agricultural
sector, the Ghana Amalgamated Trust (GAT) to support
indigenous participation in the banking sector, the Ghana
Commodity Exchange (GCX) to modernize Agricultural
transactions and provide security for our farmers, the Ghana
Deposit Scheme (GDS) to protect depositors funds, the
National Housing and Mortgage Finance Scheme (NHMFS) to
provide mortages to our working class and middle class
citizens, the 2 billion cedi Credit Guarantee Scheme (CGS) to
support large businesses, and the CAPBUSS scheme run by
NBSSI to support MSME’s amongst others, in order to sustain
and complement these reforms. Mr. Speaker, we have also
established a National Development Bank which already has
commitments of over 500 million USD as a wholesale bank to
further support these financial institutions.
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27. Mr. Speaker, in 2021, we will see significant investment in
infrastructure, especially affordable housing. These
interventions will create more jobs and enhance artisanal skills.
A few days ago, my colleague Hon. Atta Akyea and I joined HE
President Akufo-Addo to commission 204 new houses at Tema
Community 22. These houses were largely constructed and
supervised by local contractors and consultants under the
National Mortgage and Housing Fund Scheme (NMHFS). This
project was completed in nine-months, amidst COVID-19
pandemic, and created over 1,500 jobs. We will replicate this
housing model across the country and alongside the agenda
111 district hospitals programme.
28. Mr. Speaker, we expect that our digitalisation programme in
the public sector will improve efficiency and enhance the
delivery of service. Government introduced the Digital
Addressing System and the National ID programmes to ensure
that all Ghanaians and their dwellings, as well as business
locations, are uniquely identified. All these efforts have been
made to formalise the economy and improve its global
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competitiveness.
29. Mr. Speaker, we took the necessary and bold steps to stabilise
the economy, ensure food security, protect businesses and
worker incomes, strengthen the health system, attract private
investments, and support Ghanaian businesses. We will
preserve the gains as we continue to protect lives and
livelihoods from the COVID-19 pandemic. The collective
successes we have achieved so far demonstrate our dedication
and commitment towards a transformed Ghana and its people,
beyond aid.
30. Mr. Speaker, as I indicated earlier, in March 2017, I stood here
and asked that this august House support this administration
turn around the economy with the paucity of resources that we
inherited as in the story of the five loaves and two fishes.
31. Mr. Speaker, I am in awe of what God has done in the last four
years. Not only have we accomplished the miraculous
economic turnaround, we have also gathered our 12 baskets
leftovers to begin the implementation of our GH¢100 billion
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GhanaCARES (Obaatanpa) programme. Let me assure you
Mr. Speaker, that he who begun a good work with us will carry
it on to completion. Ghana is at a breakthrough moment-our
BAAL PERAZIN is upon us. But Mr. Speaker, we must as a
nation be prepared to work hard to burden share and to
sacrifice for the national good, and to desist from difficult
negotiations at such times of a global pandemic. I am confident
that the Lord will repay us for the years the locust has eaten
and pour out his spirit on all of us.
32. Mr. Speaker, I want to reassure the House that, despite the
set-backs from the pandemic, we are on-track to recover. We
have made adequate budgetary provision to ensure that the
elections are conducted in a safe and secure environment.
Government has also instituted various security measures to
ensure that we have peaceful elections and effectively contain
all threats.
33. Mr. Speaker, for the purposes of the 2021 Expenditure in
Advance of Appropriation, we have projected the 2021 first
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quarter Total Revenue and Grants at GH¢13.3 billion while
total expenditure including the clearance of arrears is projected
at GH¢24.0 billion. This results in the projected fiscal deficit
of GH¢10.7 billion for the period.
34. Mr. Speaker, to support the 2021 budget and liability
management, we plan to source funding from the international
capital market. This will comprise the issuance of sovereign
bonds of US$3 billion with the option to increase it to US$5
billion should market conditions prove favourable. Out of the
amount to be raised, US$1.5 billion will be used to support the
2021 budget and US$3.5 billion for liability management.
35. Mr. Speaker, we will require an amount of GH¢27.4 billion to
carry on the services of government until the expiration of
three months from the beginning of the 2021 Financial Year.
The total amount is to cover Government operations, such as
Compensation of Employees, ex gratia awards, Interest and
Amortization payments, transfers to Statutory Funds, critical
programmes and Goods and Services, and Capex allocations of
MDAs.
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36. Mr. Speaker, the programmes include work on the (Agenda
111) District and Regional Hospitals, which commenced in
2020 to ensure health facilities are available in all deprived
places. Currently 88 site plans have been submitted by the
district assemblies and contractors and consultants are being
procured. The rehabilitation of the Effia Nkunta and Accra
Psychiatric hospitals and the construction of the two Psychiatric
hospitals in Kumasi and Tamale will be fast-tracked. Funds
have also been provided to facilitate the reopening of schools
in the early part of 2021, if we continue to keep the spread of
new infections of the COVID-19 virus at its current low levels.
In furtherance of Government's TVET agenda, next year will
witness the start of the JOBS and SKILLS project to support
apprenticeships and competency based training curriculum
development in over 100 trade areas and entrepreneurship.
Also, we will see the beginning of construction of our flagship
State of the Art TVET centers (two per region), fully equipped
with modern training facilities in 33 trades/professions across
11 economic sectors
37. Mr. Speaker, the details of the expenditure are as follows:
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# EXPENDITURE AMOUNT (GH¢)
1 Compensation of Employees 7,708,960,148
2 Use of Goods and Services 1,595,571,683
3 Interest Payments 7,002,221,941
4 Subsidies 259,087,194
5 Grants to Other Government Units 4,340,216,517
6 Social Benefits 41,271,000
7 Other Expenditure 813,610,025
8 Capital Expenditure 1,903,658,408
TOTAL EXPENDITURE 23,664,596,915
9 Arrears Clearance 350,000,000
10 Amortisation 3,419,583,605
APPROPRIATION 27,434,180,520
38. Mr. Speaker, this Expenditure in Advance of Appropriation
forms part of the projected Revenue and Expenditure
Estimates and Financing for 2021 attached as Appendices 1A1C. The breakdown of allocations to MDAs for January to March
2021 are also attached as Appendices 2A-2D.
39. Mr. Speaker, the Controller and Accountant-General will ensure
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that all Ministries, Departments and Agencies operate strictly
within the levels set in the Expenditure in Advance of
Appropriation to be approved by this August House.
40. Mr. Speaker, the Ministry of Finance will submit a more detailed
2021 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of Government to
this august House by March 2021.
41. Mr. Speaker, we are confident that because of God’s guidance
and support, the President’s leadership, and our performance,
Ghanaians will return the NPP government to power for 4 more
for Nana to do even more and also to continue with our
economic revitalisation and transformation programme; to
improve the quality of life for the Ghanaians people who, at the
end of every decision, all program are the ones who matter
and who should reap the dividends from the transparent and
democratic governance that the NPP is offering. Specifically,
we will continue to implement measures that will result in
significant improvements in business regulations and their
implementation, digitisation to improve quality and
transparency of public service delivery, expanding access to
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finance for Ghanaian businesses, skills training, and energy
sector reform when Ghanaians give us another mandate to
ensure that Ghana goes beyond aid.
42. Mr. Speaker, I feel truly blessed and have such gratitude to
God for the opportunity to have been here in these past four
years to work for President Akufo-Addo and to present the
President’s remarkable, destiny-changing, economic
regenerating, institutional renewing policies and programmes.
And I am thankful particularly for the help and support I have
received from this August House. Together with this
Parliament, the Ministry of Finance alone has passed more than
50 bills into law in the last four years. I, and all of the team at
the Ministry of Finance, humbly thank you, Mr. Speaker and
Honourable members.
43. Let me, Mr. Speaker, in the spirit of the Nkosuo and Nkabom
budget, leave us with psalm 133; ‘ How good and pleasant it
is when God’s people live together in Unity for then the hand
bestows His blessings ‘. We are a chosen people; we perceive
what He is doing and we must be obedient to His call and be
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joyful and grateful for the battle remains the Lord’s.
44. Right Honourable Speaker, in conclusion, I humbly request this
august House by resolution to approve an amount of
GH¢27,434,180,520 (Twenty-Seven Billion, Four Hundred
and Thirty-Four Million, One Hundred and Eighty Thousand,
Five Hundred and Twenty Ghana Cedis) as Expenditure in
Advance of Appropriation to carry on the services of
government until the expiration of three months from the
beginning of the 2021 Financial Year. We also request approval
for the issuance of sovereign bonds of US$3 billion with the
option to increase it to US$5 billion should market conditions
prove favourable.
45. Mr. Speaker, I so move and accordingly, I present this paper
to the house. Read Full Story
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