Finance Minister Seth Terkper has contradicted a report by the Reuters news agency that said key tenet of Ghana’s $918 million aid deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been breached.
Reuters had claimed in a report published last week that the Finance Committee of Parliament has recommended a change to the Bank of Ghana (BoG) Amendment Bill to allow central bank financing of the budget deficit up to 5 percent of the previous year’s total revenue.
But presenting a supplementary budget statement to Parliament Monday, Mr. Terkper said no such decision has been taken.
“Mr. Speaker, while Honourable Members may be aware of the House’s procedures, permit me to use this opportunity to inform the public that the House has not yet taken any decisions on the provisions or clauses in these Bills.”
The Finance Minister however acknowledged Parliament’s “very instrumental and supportive” role played to help the nation access the third tranche under the deal.
The country has so far received a total of 344.1 million dollars under the Extended Credit Facility with the IMF.
The third review Mission to assess performance under the 3-year ECF Programme was in held in May, 2016.
“The IMF Board is expected to approve the review by end-August, 2016 after additional prior actions set by the IMF are satisfied, including the passage of the new Public Financial Management Bill and the Bank of Ghana Amendment Act currently before this august House,” Mr. Terkper told Parliament.
By Isaac Essel | 3news.com | Ghana
