After a nearly four-hour delay occasioned by a stand-off between the leadership of the Minority caucus and the government, the Minister of Finance, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, delivered the Mid-Year Budget review on Tuesday, July 23, 2024.

The review is in accordance with Section 28 of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921), which requires the minister to provide the mid-year fiscal policy review of the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the government.

With Ghana’s economy making some progress from the quagmire it had been plunged into in recent times, the Mid-Year Budget review afforded the finance minister the platform to not just update Parliament but the country on the strides made so far and some major policies the public should expect in the coming months.

GhanaWeb highlights five major issues from the address delivered on the floor of parliament:

Road tolls are back

Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam announced that the cabinet has given its approval for the return of road tolls.

According to the minister, the move will help generate additional revenue to support the maintenance and development of the country's road network.

"Mr. Speaker, Cabinet has approved the establishment of a framework for the reintroduction of road and bridge tolls in 2025," he said.

Economy hits 4.7% growth

Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam disclosed that Ghana’s economy is currently on an upward trajectory with marginal growth in the first quarter of the year.

He noted the growth is a manifestation of the policies implemented by the government to build a resilient Ghanaian economy.

"Our economy grew by 4.7% in the first quarter of this year, surpassing our expectations. This growth demonstrates the resilience of our economic policies and the hard work of Ghanaians," he stated during his mid-year budget review presentation to Parliament on July 23, 2024.

Investors to receive 3rd coupon in August 2024

Following the successful implementation of the Domestic Debt Exchange Program (DDEP) in 2023, Dr. Amin Adam disclosed that the country has made some progress relative to the payment of returns for investors.

He announced that the third payment of the coupon will be done in August and that the move is a reflection of the commitment by the government to honor its financial obligations.

“I am pleased to report that the Government has made substantial progress since the completion of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) in September 2023.

We have successfully honored two coupon payments, with the second payment of about 5.9 billion Ghana Cedis in February 2024. Furthermore, we are on track to make the third coupon payment of 6.1 billion Ghana Cedis in August 2024,” he noted.

Ghana’s public debt hits GH¢742bn

The country’s public debt has jumped from GH¢658.6bn to GH¢742bn as of June 2024, the finance minister has disclosed.

In his address to Parliament on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, Dr. Amin Adam disclosed that the above-mentioned figure represents 70.6 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“This indicates an increase of 22.0 percent due to the effect of the cedi depreciation and continuous disbursements from creditors.”

“The stock consists of external debt of GH¢452.0 billion and domestic debt of GH¢290.0 billion, representing 60.9 percent and 39.1 percent of the total debt stock, respectively.

As a percentage of GDP, external and domestic debt represented 43.0 percent and 27.6 percent, respectively.”

GH¢9.9 billion spent on Free SHS since 2017

It came to light during the presentation that the government’s flagship education program, Free SHS, has taken over GH¢9.9 billion from the government.

The finance minister who made this disclosure stated that the government has remained steadfast in its resolve to ensure that Ghanaians enjoy free academic studies at the high school level.

“The impact of the program is evident. To date, a total of over GH¢9.9 billion has been spent on the program and a cumulative total of 5.7 million young people have benefited from this initiative, many of whom may not have had this opportunity.

Mr. Speaker, to complement this effort, we have provided facilities under TVET to empower our young people with employable skills; with 168,000 students enrolled in the 2023-2024 year. Additionally, we are constructing 10 STEM Schools and 10 STEM Centres across the country, and we have distributed 900,000 tablets for secondary school students. Quality education has been given considerable focus. The performance of the students at WASSCE in 2023 is also the best since 2015," he explained.

EK