President of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Dr. Joseph Obeng, has called the 2023 mid-year budget read in front of lawmakers on Monday, July 31, 2023, “empty.”
He claimed that neither the high cost of doing business nor the high taxes paid on commodities were addressed by the government.
Dr. Obeng continued by saying that the recent spike in utility prices was hurting the business community.
Speaking in an interview on TV3’s Ghana Tonight programme, the GUTA President said, “The budget did not touch on the high cost involved in doing business, no revision on taxes, high interest rate and high inflation issues have not been solved. Inflation from 53% to 42% is not acceptable, nothing has changed, there is no new thing in the budget.”
“Effects of the IMF and high exchange rate did not help; utility bills have gone up to 50% all these are not good for businesses,” he stated.
Dr. Obeng advised the government to implement expenditure cuts to alleviate the financial burden on the country.
Amidst the economic crisis, he expressed concern that Ghanaians were facing significant hardships and suggested that the government should implement more stringent measures to bring relief to the citizens.
The mid-year budget review statement, presented by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, was a requirement under the Public Financial Management Act 2016. Its purpose is to update the Parliament and the public on the country’s economic progress and to outline any necessary adjustments to budgetary allocations and policies.