Coronavirus: Make changes to 2020 budget – Jackson to govt

The Finance Minister must immediately go to parliament to amend portions of the budget statement for the 2020 fiscal year, Joe Jackson, CEO of the Dalex Finance, has suggested.

He explained that the outbreak of the coronavirus infection in Ghana will make it impossible to achieve certain targets in the budget for which the government must go back to the legislature to make amendments.

Ghana has recorded nineteen cases of the outbreak.

Mr Jackson noted that these are not normal times for the country because the pandemic will affect every sector of the economy and also government expenditure.

“Throw the budget out of the window because we are heading to a recession. If we stick to the budget it will create problem,” he said on the Key Point show on TV3, Saturday March 21.

He added: “These are not normal times. The economy effect will take much longer time to recover.”

For his part, Professor Peter Quartey, Director of the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) of the University of Ghana, asked the government to provide stimulus package as part of efforts to deal with the negative effects of the coronavirus outbreak on the economy.

He also said that the government is likely not to achieve the 5 per cent deficit target it set this year.

This, according to him, is due to the negative effects of the coronavirus outbreak on the Ghanaian economy.

Prof Quartey noted that all sectors of the economy will be hard hit by the pandemic, a situation that will affect government revenue targets.

He has therefore, asked the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta to immediately go to parliament to amend the 5 per cent deficit target.



“The 5 per cent deficit target is not likely to be achieved,” “This is understandable” he said on the same show.

“The 5 per cent is a law so the finance minister should go back to parliament to amend it.”

Prof Quartey further said the government must provide stimulus packages in order to be able to deal the effects on the economy.

“The whole economy is going to be affected,” he said, adding that the government “must provide stimulus quickly so we can manage the damages.”

“Certainly we need the stimulus packages,” he added.