The Mid-Year budget of Ghana, as presented by the Minister of Finance on July 23, 2024 to parliament, is in fulfilment of Section 28 of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921).
The mid-year review seeks to offer an in-depth take at the fiscal policies, economic achievements, and future initiatives of the Ghanaian government.
Below, are the highlights of the key achievements and planned initiatives;
- cabinet has given its approval for the reintroduction of road and bridge tolls in 2025 to help generate additional revenue to support the maintenance and development of the country’s road network
- economy grew by 4.7% in the first quarter of this year, surpassing our expectations
- the third payment of the coupon under the Domestic Debt Exchange Program (DDEP) in 2023 will be done in August and that the move is a reflection of the commitment by the government to honor its financial obligations
- The country’s public debt has jumped from GH¢658.6bn to GH¢742bn as of June 2024. This indicates an increase of 22.0 percent due to the effect of the cedi depreciation and continuous disbursements from creditors
- government’s flagship education program, Free SHS, has taken over GH¢9.9 billion from the government.
- Gross international reserves (including oil funds and encumbered/pledged assets) to cover not less than 3.0 months of imports.
- As of June 2024, inflation has decreased to 22.8 per cent, a significant drop from the peak of 54.6% in December 2022.
- The exchange rate has relatively stabilized, with the Cedi’s depreciation rate against the US Dollar improving from 22.0 per cent in June 2023 to 18.6 per cent in June 2024.
- For the first half of 2024, total revenue and grants amounted to GH¢74.7 billion, with total expenditures at GH¢95.9 billion.
For the second half of the year 2024, the economic prospect of the nation is cautiously predicted, considering the fact that, it is an election season.
