Government has been cautioned against spending outside its budget as it prepares to present its financial statement for the year to Parliament in March.

The previous administration has been accused of have spent far more than what was approved, resulting in a budget deficit of about 9 percent.

Speaking with JOY BUSINESS Banking Consultant and Head of the Osei Tutu Centre for Executive Education and Research, Nana Otuo Acheampong said any attempt to immediately fulfill campaign promises, by spending more could cripple the economy.  

"If you get a government which is disciplined and would be able to spend what it earns then you would get a little or minimal deficit. If it is the opposite then you would get the sort of figures that we have witnessed in the recent past," he said. 

He said if the New Patriotic Party (NPP) led by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo cuts it coat according to the size of its cloth, it would be on the winning path.

According to him, the party demonstrated financial discipline when it last governed from 2001-2009 which drove Ghana's deficit low with "stable currency rate within the period."

"Now that they are bad again, I believe they would be able to bring those discipline back on board so the economy gets better," he said.