Tamale Central MP Inusah Fuseini has questioned government’s decision to suspend the Fiscal Responsibility Act which requires the deficit to be kept at a maximum of 5 percent of GDP – citing the pandemic as a reason to do so.
According to him, government is riding on the pandemic to spend “recklessly” beyond it budget.
Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta in his mid-year budget presentation last Thursday stated: “From developments thus far, it is clear that the fiscal rules of a deficit not exceeding 5 percent of GDP and a positive primary balance enshrined in the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2018 (Act 982) are neither feasible nor attainable targets in this emergency period of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
“The scale of damage and macroeconomic distortions caused by the pandemic is unprecedented in our country’s history. It may take a while to return to the pre- COVID-19 fiscal path. According to our revised fiscal framework, the economy is not likely to return to the 5 percent fiscal deficit threshold set in the Fiscal Responsibility Law sooner than 2024.
“Consequently, as required by section 3(3) of the Fiscal Responsibility Law, the government will within 30 days present before this august House the necessary documentation that supports the suspension of the fiscal rules and targets for this year 2020,” the minister added.
But, Mr.Fuseini in an interview with NEAT FM’s morning show ‘Ghana Montie’ accused the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta of breaching the Fiscal Responsibility Act after calling on parliament to sanction him for his ‘deliberate’ act.