The country's economic picture "has deteriorated dramatically," according to the finance minister, which is making life for the populace intolerable.
On Monday, July 25, Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta stated that a variety of reasons that the government had not expected had severely impacted the cost and style of living of Ghanaians.
"Food costs are increasing, gas and transportation costs are increasing, the cost of borrowing has gone up for both firms and consumers, the cedi has devalued, and the economic picture has become much gloomier.
It's terrible for me to communicate this condition of circumstances to you. It is difficult to hear our folks complain about the high costs of necessities. For the administration and the Finance Minister specifically, these are trying times, he told the legislature.
He cited one of the main causes of the present status of the economy as the government's inaction in enacting recommended tax measures.
He said that this resulted in increased investor anxiety, credit rating downgrades, and restricted access to global markets.
Additionally, in February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, which deteriorated the already fragile global supply chains. This scenario was made worse by the tight financial circumstances, rising food and fuel costs, and skyrocketing prices for building materials and fertiliser.
The finance minister emphasised that the unexpected local and global issues that have hit the economy were never anticipated by the administration. We didn't prepare for this and didn't work very hard for this. Recent difficulties have engulfed us. Hearing our food farmers lament the expense of transporting goods from farm gates to market centres is excruciating.
He emphasised that "our obligation is to work through and overcome these issues, and that is exactly what keeps the President and his staff up at night."
There was no request for more cash.
In order to make up for its income shortfall in the 2022 budget, the government claims it would use the windfall from the upstream petroleum industry.
According to Mr. Ofori-Atta, the administration won't ask for additional cash to support its initiatives for the remainder of the year. He bemoaned the effects of outside forces that have devastated the economy's revenue-generating sectors, but he assured that the government will wisely employ the little resources at its disposal for the benefit of Ghanaians.
"Since we released the budget in November 2021, there have been some significant changes in the assumptions we used to develop our budget. Reduced income, higher interest costs, and adjustments to interest rates and exchange rates are the results of these developments.
But we're determined to keep within the allocated budget for 2022. Despite the weak external challenges and underwhelming revenues, we are not asking for more money at this mid-year review.
For the benefit of the typical Ghanaian, he claims that the government won't back out of accomplishing that.
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