'Nkunim Budget' a useless handing over note to the NDC – Ricketts Hagan

Former Deputy Minister of Finance, Kweku Rickets Hagan ha described the 2024 “Nkunim Budget” presented by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta as a “useless handing over note” to the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) which he believes will assume power in 2025.

The Finance Minister, presenting the budget he calls “Nkunim”, made some projections for the year 2024, stressing Ghana’s economy will grow by a trillion.

“The 2024 Budget is even more significant because we will cross the GHȼ1 trillion Gross Domestic Product (GDP) mark for the first time in our economic history. Let me repeat, Mr. Speaker, Ghana’s economy under President Akufo-Addo’s final year in office is projected to be valued over GH¢1 trillion in 2024 from the GH¢219.5 billion in 2016.

“Mr. Speaker, with such a milestone ahead of us, Government is protecting, at all cost, the foundation for sustained economic expansion. A foundation that has been achieved through the sweat and patience of the Ghanaian people. We pledge to protect this for all our people and especially for private sector growth,” Mr. Ofori-Atta said.

He also projected that the country’s total revenue and grants for 2024 will stand at “GH¢176.4 billion (16.7% of GDP). The projection is underpinned by permanent non-oil revenue measures which are expected to yield at least 0.9 percent of GDP consistent with the medium-term revenue path under the IMF-Supported PC-PEG and the Medium-Term Revenue Strategy!”

But speaking on Ghana Kasa show on Kasapa 102.5FM/Agoo TV Thursday, the Member of Parliament for Cape Coast South, said the next NDC government will be wrong and will burn its fingers if it relies on this budget as a true reflection of the current state of the country’s economic situation.

“This budget does not paint the true picture of our current economic situation. Let’s say the NDC has come to government and the countries we are owing and have decided to stop paying our debt suddenly ask that we start paying them and we fix that in this budget, the budget will be completely useless. This is because our deficit will change, our fiscal space will Chage, the projected growth of 2.8% will change, inflation rate will change, basically our primary balance will also change, almost everything in this budget will change just by putting in your external debt servicing. So, this budget is dysfunctional and so as a handing over note, it will be a bad one.”