The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has announced some measures in the 2023 Budget aimed at boosting the local productive capacity of the economy.

Outlining the measures on the Floor of Parliament, Mr. Ofori-Atta said government will cut the imports of public sector institutions that rely on imports either for inputs or consumption by 50%.

It will therefore work with the Ghana Audit Service and the Internal Audit Agency to ensure its compliance.

He added that government will support the aggressive production of strategic substitutes, including the list disclosed at the President’s last address to the nation.

“We will also support large-scale agriculture and agribusinesses interventions through the Development Bank Ghana and ADB Bank and introduce policies for the protection and incubation for newly formed domestic industries to allow them to make the goods produced here competitive for local consumption and also for exports”.

To promote exports, Mr. Ofori-Atta assured that government will expand the productive capacity in the real sector of the economy and actively encourage the consumption of locally produced rice, poultry, vegetable oil and fruit juices, ceramic tiles among others;

He stated that government will also enhance efficiency in the public sector and implement the Government directives on expenditure measures to integrate public procurement approval processes with GIFMIS.

This, he said will ensure that projects approved are aligned with budget allocation.

“We will review key government programmes to reflect relevance, promote efficiency, and ensure value for money; and also review the efficiency of Statutory Funds”.

“To implement structural and public sector reform, we will among others impose a debt limit on non-concessional financing and undertake major structural reforms in the Public Sector by reviewing the operations of 36 State-owned Enterprises,  8 Special Purpose Vehicles, 90 Joint Venture Companies, 38 Regulatory institutions, 68 Statutory Bodies and 6 subvented Agencies” he added.

On the exchange rate market, Mr. Ofori-Atta stated that government will enforce compliance with legal and regulatory framework on foreign exchange.

He added that government will initiate measures to overhaul the tax structures in the extractive industry and expand the gold purchase programme by Bank of Ghana to support FX Reserve accumulation, promote an LBMA certified gold refinery in Ghana and promote local currency stability.