Prioritise approval of revenue bills - Ofori-Atta appeals to Parliament

Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has called on the legislature to expedite the passage of three critical bills that are remaining to enable government complete four of ve agreed prior actions in the Sta Level Agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The approval of the bills is expected to bring it one step closer to securing a $3 billion IMF bailout, to restore macro-economic stability, ensure debt sustainability as well as provide critical social protection for the benet of Ghanaians.

Presenting a statement on the oor of parliament on Thursday on Ghana’s Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDE), Mr. Ofori-Atta told the lawmakers that government launched the DDE to restructure about GHc137bn worth of government bonds and notes.

He said “all these e orts would be greatly enhanced if the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, Excise Duty & Excise Tax Stamp (Amendment) Bills as well as the Growth and Sustainability Levy Bill, which are outstanding in this august House could be prioritized and passed.

The passage of these Bills will enable Government to complete four (4) of ve (5) agreed Prior Actions in the Sta Level Agreement since Tari adjustment by the PURC, Publication of the Auditor-General’s Report on COVID-19 Spending, and Onboarding of GETFUND, DACF and Road Fund on the GIFMIS have all been completed.”

According to the nance minister, he cannot emphasize enough, the need to secure the Board Approval for the IMF Programme by the end of March, 2023 and appealed to parliament to prioritise the approval of the outstanding Revenue Bills and the various concessional facilities.

The nance ministry on Tuesday said that around 85% of eligible bondholders had tendered in for its domestic debt exchange programme.

The announcement followed ve extensions of the scheme's deadline, as the country battled to secure its targeted 80% subscription rate. Holdouts persisted despite several revisions to the initial debt-swap o er.

Further, he disclosed that government has begun working on “necessary scal adjustments” after the debt operation is completed and is expected to present the modi cations to the legislature for consideration and approval.

Mr. Ofori-Atta stated that government is mindful of the Exchange’s rami cations on the country’s nancial health. “As a result, the government is developing several prudential measures to mitigate the potential impact on domestic creditors, considering the need to preserve nancial stability. Billions of taxpayer’s monies were used between 2017 and 2019 to rescue the nancial sector. We have no intention to imperil that work and we are determined to protect banks operating in Ghana and strengthen their capacity to nance the economic recovery and growth we see before us.”

Ghana is battling its way out of a generational economic crisis by hiking interest rates at record speeds, cutting spending, and restructuring its debt as a condition to obtain support approval from the IMF's Executive Board.