Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has told Parliament that in order to support the 2021 budget and liability management, the government plans to source funding from the international capital market.

He said 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, he said, US$1.5 billion will be used to support the 2021 budget and US$3.5 billion for liability management.

“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,” he said on Wednesday, October 28.

“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,” he said.

He added: “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 Nkwanta 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 centres (two per region), fully equipped with modern training facilities in 33 trades/professions across 11 economic sectors.”