Member of Parliament for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu says the best news the Finance Minister can give to Ghanaians is to announce that an agreement has been reached with external creditors.

According to him, the current economic crisis has impacted many businesses, therefore any news on possible economic relief will be welcomed by all citizens.

“The biggest news Ken Ofori Atta will have for Ghanaians tomorrow [Wednesday] will be to announce that they have reached an agreement with external creditors in order that he will be able to save some $10.5 billion out of the $29 billion external debt that will give him some fiscal space,” he said.

He was speaking ahead of the 2024 budget reading on Wednesday, November 15, 2023.

Read more: Fact-check: Did Ghana miss November 1 IMF timeline?

Although the former Majority Leader expects the Finance Minister to give the citizenry a positive update on the negotiations with creditors to access the second tranche of the IMF package, he hinted that Ken Ofori-Atta might say he was near conclusion with external creditors including China and the Paris Club.

Read more: Ghana misses out on IMF’s Nov. 1 timeline for 2nd tranche as external debt restructuring talks drag

He stressed the current economic challenges require urgent input. 

“I think that we need the release of the $600 million before November other than that the epilepsy of the cedi will be at crashing the level,” he said.

Mr Iddrisu said that he expects the 2024 budget to resurrect the Fiscal Responsibility Act because there must be fiscal discipline towards fiscal consolidation. He added that to help restore the economy both sides of parliament must work together to “preserve foreign exchange in the country.”

Read more: Tell us why YouStart was never implemented – Young Entrepreneurs to Finance Minister

Many stakeholders have shared their expectations of what the 2024 budget must cover. Amongst them is the Ghana Chamber of Young Entrepreneurs.

According to the Chief Executive Officer, Sherif Ghali the Finance Minister must provide answers as to why the YouStart initiative launched to provide technical support to youth-led businesses was never started.