Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta says the government is working towards the elimination of “ghost” workers from the government’s payroll.
According to Ofori-Atta, the initiative is expected to be completed by the end of December this year.
Addressing the country on measures being taken to curb the economic challenges on Thursday (24 March), he said: “Government will conclude ongoing measures to eliminate “ghost” workers from the government payroll by end December 2022.”
Expenditure cut
Ofori-Atta also said that ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) will be engaged to review their expenditure plans for the year.
“Discretionary spending is to be further cut by an additional 10%. The Ministry of Finance is currently meeting with MDAs to review their spending plans for the rest of the three quarters to achieve the discretionary expenditure cuts.”
The government as part of a prudent fiscal consolidation move said it is committed to cutting down expenditure across the board by 20%.
Ofori-Atta who said this during a government town hall meeting in Tamale on Thursday (10 February), said the government’s decision to rationalise expenditure by some 20% is to decisively strengthen fiscal consolidation of the 2022 Budget to address critical concerns of the economy, create jobs for the youth, obtain a positive primary balance and stabilise the debt.
He said the decision is in accordance with the Public Management Act (PFMA) and will help strengthen expenditure management, bring the deficit back within the limit, make development sustainable and channel expenditure to critical sectors of the economy to increase growth and create jobs.
“We are committed like we have stated earlier to cut down public expenditure by 20%. This means that our fiscal consolidation agenda going forward is not going to be only revenue-led but also expenditure focused. And through the E-Levy, the government can rake in more revenue to invest in important sectors of the Ghanaian economy to the benefit of all,” Ofori-Atta said.
Nicholas Brown
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