Parliament has approved a sum of 10.9 billion cedis to be used for the first 3 months of 2017 by any government that would be sworn in after the December 7 polls later this year.
The amount which would be sourced from the consolidated fund is intended to aid the government, be it the New Patriotic Party (NPP) or the National Democratic Congress (NDC) which would then be continuing in power IF it wins the elections.
The amount was approved after Finance Minister Seth Tekper addressed parliament on Wednesday October 20 with a breakdown of how the monies would be disbursed.
A breakdown of the figure is as follows
Compensation of Employees – GHC 3.88billion
Goods and Services – GHC 164 million cedis
Capital Expenditure – GHC 1.2 billion cedis
Interest Payment – GHC 1.88billion cedis
Grants to Other Government Units – GHC 2.3 billion
Non Road Arrears – GHC 518 million
Tax Refunds – GHC 151 million and
Amortisation – GHC 773 million.
Although these figures have been rounded up, totaling it would amount to GHC 10, 999, 108,191 billion.
Speaker of the House, Right Honourable Edward Doe Adjaho indicated that the total amount haven’t been approved would ensure that government business and agencies run smoothly especially from January to March 2017 irrespective of whichever party is in power.
The Finance Minister also indicated that revenue amounting to 8.9 billion would be generated with the same period of January to March 2017.
By Martin Asiedu-Dartey|3news.com|Ghana
Twitter: @3newsgh