Containing the Runaway Budget Deficit Ladies and Gentlemen of the Media, no government in the constitutional history of Ghana before the coming into office of the NPP has ever posted a budget deficit about 15 percent of GDP. The NPP will forever be in our record books as being the group that scored that unenviable feat. While economies like Greece, Ireland etc were virtually grinding to a halt due to budget deficits in the region of 12 and 13 percent, President Mills and his team quietly set about navigating through the turbulence caused by the huge deficit left behind by the NPP. In 2009 in particular, President Mills and his team had to be on the path of consolidation which largely meant curtailing non priority expenditures especially given that revenue growth was relatively constrained by the Global economic crisis. By the close of 2009, the budget deficit was brought down to about 9.6 percent. By dink of hardwork and competent management, the Mills-led government by 2011 achieved a remarkable containment of the huge deficit. At the time of the presentation of the 2012 budget, the budget deficit stood at 2 percent- a feat that has not been achieved in several decades.
Posted on: Sat, 26 Jul 2014 10:55:57 +0000