Minister for Finance Ken Ofori-Atta will present the government’s expenditure plan for next year when he stands in Parliament on Wednesday, November 17.

Prior data from the Ministry for Finance which JoyNews is privy to indicate that the total expenditure for the coming year is estimated at GH¢128.3billion.

This means the government’s expenditure in 2022 is expected to increase by almost 13% compared to the ¢113.8 billion expenditure in 2021.

But how does the administration intend to raise and then disburse this cash?

Mr. Ofori-Atta has already dismissed assertions that the country will or should seek an IMF bailout.

Knowing the political fallouts that could follow this decision, the Minister says the government is rather looking to the Eurobond market.

More taxes are also likely, with sources close to the government mooting the idea on social media days to the D-Day.

Are you prepared to pay more (like double) for road tolls to help fix roads or you want them scrapped completely to ease traffic?

— Gabby Otchere-Darko (@GabbyDarko) November 16, 2021

On how the monies will be spent, we would have to wait on Ofori-Atta to disclose that.

Other expectations from the budget include the scrapping of some taxes on fuel. Driver Unions across the country are unflinching in the demand for this.

Last week, 16 of the driver unions threatened to withdraw services, essentially bringing the working class to its knees in an attempt to force the policy makers’ hands.

The unions backtracked at the last minute, citing positive expectations to their demands from today’s budget.

The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) is also displeased with the scrapping of the 50% benchmark policy at the ports, a decision put on hold for the Finance Minister’s statement.

On the other hand, the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has lauded the move, having opposed it since its inception. AGI says the policy encourages imports as against promoting local goods.

With prices of petroleum products going up almost weekly, the government is under pressure to introduce subsidies.

Meanwhile, these expectations are hinging on a narrow tax net with only about 9% of the 30 million population captured.

The government hopes its digitisation agenda will widen the net, but that seems a long-term goal and those monies aren’t intended for 2022.

These factors with a huge debt burden of 76% of GDP just add up to make the 2022 budget a tricky one for both analysts and the government.

The stakes are at their highest as the clock ticks to 10:00 am Wednesday.