Economist Professor Peter Quartey is pushing for expenditure prioritization to ensure that any cut in the budget does not end up crippling the economy.  

In an interview with JoyBusiness, Prof. Quartey said, “I think I will propose two measures, one is expenditure prioritization – where the finance minister will look at the items of expenditure, look at the ones that are critical and look at the ones that can be postponed so that he’s able to manage his expenditure within the limited budget that he has.”

He added, “The second option will be to look at how he can enhance revenue. Some countries have increased the VAT, others have used other measures. But I think currently we are seeing more online business flourishing so perhaps the Finance Minister through the GRA might want to look at some of these options where they can raise revenue from online business.”

Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta is expected to present a Mid-Year budget review and a Covid-19 Alleviation Program next month. 

This is coming at a time that the economy is expected to lose more than GH¢20 billion by end of the year.