Right Honourable Speaker, Honourable Members of Parliament, today the 29th July, 2019 on the authority of His Excellency, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, I beg to move that this august House approves the Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review and Supplementary Estimates to the 2019 Budget.
Mr. Speaker, on 15th November 2018, I presented to this House the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana for the 2019 Financial Year. I stand before you today to present the Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review of the 2019 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, and Supplementary Estimates of Government for the 2019 Financial Year.
Mr. Speaker, I am performing this statutory function in accordance with Article 179 (8) of the 1992 Constitution and Standing Order 143 of this august House which set out the modalities for laying Supplementary Estimates before this House, and Section 28 of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921) which enjoins the Minister responsible for Finance to prepare and submit to Parliament a Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to update the House on key developments since the Budget presentation last year, a few of which are challenging our collective efforts to improve and expand the economy. Some of these developments have imposed significant shocks and will require decisive actions to maintain economic stability.
Mr. Speaker, the NPP Government came into office in response to Ghanaians’ call for a government that would turn around the dire fortunes of this country and lead Ghana back onto a path of macroeconomic stability, growth and prosperity. This, Mr. Speaker, is being executed through Government’s flagship programmes and prudent macroeconomic management. The success of these programmes so far attests to the fact that, like the good stewards mentioned in the parable of the talents in the Bible, we have prudently utilised the very limited resources that we were entrusted with to achieve much more.
Mr. Speaker, we continue to steadily implement our carefully chosen flagship programmes to secure the future of Ghana and our people. We are confident that Ghana is on course to achieve its manifest destiny of greatness and economic prosperity. Mr. Speaker, we have been able to entrench fiscal discipline through the strategic allocation of resources, efficiency in the use of public funds, as well as transparency and accountability in our management of the public purse.