Government must use the 2023 mid-year budget review to demonstrate its commitment to restoring economic stability, former Finance Minister Seth Terkper has said – noting that narrowing the widening fiscal gap also remains paramount.

Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta is expected to present government’s mid-year budget review statement before parliament next week, and Mr. Terkper – who performed a similar role between 2013 and 2017 – says apart from introducing practical steps to restore stability and confidence, he expects to see innovative measures to raise more revenue and reduce expenditure, as this could help narrow the fiscal gap.

“We will have to do more on raising revenues and reducing expenditures. Otherwise, the fiscal gap will not narrow. We will have to be realistic about our arrears or commitments; they are real and will not go away,” he stated while speaking during a media dialogue on expectations ahead of the 2023 mid-year budget review

The former finance minister also noted that government must pursue fiscal reforms which restore confidence in the business community.

To further put the economy on the right path, Executive Director-Think Progress Ghana, Prof. Anthony Mawuli Sallar, noted that government must demonstrate a clear commitment to long-term investments which have the potential of generating revenue to service its domestic and foreign debts.

“As the finance minister prepares to present the mid-year budget review, we urge him to come clean and reveal to Ghanaians the extent of the financial crisis. We also appeal to him to restore a straight fiscal programme, restore expenditure efficiency and adhere to strict procurement law and processes. Most importantly, we want to hear improvements in budget transparency and accountability,” he added.

He maintained that the factors which have accounted for an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout could have been prevented if managers of the economy were doing their jobs well, highlighting why government should not turn a deaf ear to the mismanagement concerns.

“In the medical field, diagnosis is the basis of any treatment plan; the same applies to managing a sovereign debt crisis. Look at the level of crisis we face today in our country, but we [government] cannot come out straight. We cannot continue on our current path of deceit with an over-bloated government that is not telling us what is happening.

“Going to the IMF for a bailout does not mean that we have put out the fire of economic hardship we have created. What is our long-term goal? What can US$3billion do for us as a country when we lose the same in corruption? We are engulfed with reckless borrowing, wasteful spending and corruption that has a lot of proof but government does nothing about it,” he lamented.

Finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta is set to present government’s mid-year review in accordance with section (28) of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (PFMA) Act 921, which requires that the finance minister presents a mid-year review to parliament six months after presentation of the main budget for that fiscal year.