At the Mid-Year Budget Review, Finance Minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam sought Parliament’s approval to withdraw GH₵500 million from the Contingency Fund.
This request is part of the government’s emergency response to the looming food insecurity crisis, driven by a severe dry spell affecting eight regions of Ghana.
The appeal comes shortly after President Akufo-Addo directed the Finance Ministry to secure an GH₵8 billion relief package to support farmers severely impacted by the ongoing drought.
In a letter to Parliament’s Finance Committee, Dr. Amin Adam explained that with only four months left in the fiscal year, the unplanned nature of the GH₵8.36 billion expenditure, due to “force majeure,” makes it impossible to fully cover this amount through reallocations within the existing 2024 Budget.
Consequently, he requested the Finance Committee’s approval to withdraw GH₵500 million from the Contingency Fund, citing constitutional and legislative provisions, including Article 177(1) of the 1992 Constitution, Section 36(1) of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921), and Section 227(1) of Parliament’s Standing Orders.
This sum will be supplemented by additional resources mobilized from Development Partners and by realigning certain aspects of the 2024 Budget.
The Ministry emphasized that the National Emergency Response Programme, supported by these funds, will enable the government to implement critical measures to mitigate the crisis.
In a letter to Parliament’s Finance Committee, the Minister indicated that “considering that we are eight (8) months into the implementation of the 2024 Budget and the proposed interventions are unplanned expenditure occasioned by a “force majeure”, Government cannot fund the request of GH¢8.36 billion solely from a reallocation of existing budget lines in the 2024 Budget.”
In response to the situation, the government has already imposed an immediate ban on the export of key grains such as maize, rice, and soybeans.
During an August 26 press briefing, the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, stressed that this ban is necessary to ensure the availability of these essential crops on the domestic market.
This decision follows alarming reports indicating that 435,872 farmers have already suffered losses estimated at GH₵3.5 billion due to the prolonged dry conditions.