Parliament approves GH¢6.7 billion Supplementary Appropriation for 2019

Parliament on Friday evening approved GH¢6.370 billion to be issued from the Consolidated Fund, and granted authorisation for withdrawal from other funds to provide additional financing for Government operations during the 2019 Financial Year.

This follows the passage of the Supplementary Appropriation Bill, 2020.

Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta moved the motion for the passage of the Bill, which was seconded by Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu.

According to a report of the Finance Committee on the Bill, when passed, the Bill shall "be deemed to have come into effect on the 29th day of July, 2019."

The Committee said the introduction of the Bill in 2020 to provide for the appropriation of the sum approved as supplementary estimate in 2019 was in pursuant of provisions in the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.

In a background to the report on the proposal for the Bill, the House learned that after the approval of the 2019 Budget, there arose significant domestic and global developments, which posed fiscal risks to the economy.

Those developments mainly related to the upward adjustments of interest payments resulting from the effect of a higher exchange rate than the programmed exchange rate and a higher domestic borrowing in the first half of the year as well as an upward adjustment in Goods and Services in the second half of the year to meet critical security expenses and other expenses.

"Additionally, the crystallisation of contingent liabilities of the energy sector in respect of take-or-pay contract obligations with Independent Power Producers increased the requirements for external amortization above the amount provided for in the Budget for the Year 2019," the report said.

"These developments led to supplementary estimates being approved to support government operations for the year," it added.

The report said much of the supplementary vote for 2019 were channelled into the energy sector, with the rest going into Goods and Services.