Economist, Dr. Ishmael Yamson, has challenged government to demonstrate their commitment to Ghana’s fiscal consolidation by announcing significant expenditure cuts in the Mid-Year Budget Review.

According to him, the ongoing International Monetary Fund programme will be a total failure if government does not put in place measures to halt the country’s ballooning expenditure.

Speaking on PM Express Business Edition, Dr. Yamson argued that more tax hikes would be detrimental to the recovery of the nation’s economy and could further weaken the already ailing private sector.

He advised that it would be beneficial for government to centre the private sector in their major programmes in a public-private partnership agreement to allow the private sector drive the economic recovery and development of the country.

“That’s why the fund is clever to say this programme is the authority’s programme and we are supporting it. So the IMF programme should only be a support to what our government should do and must do. And for me what is the problem?

“The problem has always been that we spend more than we raise in revenue. So let the government demonstrate in its budget on Monday that truly it is going to take steps, clear steps, credible steps, that it will cut expenditure and that it can be quantifiable, verifiable and that we can all track it.

“Because if we maintain the same expenditure levels then the IMF programme can go sleep. Because you’ll give me one billion a year, how much debt and interest is government paying every year?” he said.