Terkper ordered to review 2014 budget

The Minister of Finance, Seth Terkper, has been asked to review the targets set in the 2014 budget in order to seal the financial gaps that have plunged the country’s economy into seeming crisis.

The review must be conducted as a matter of urgency, the Finance Minister has been told.

This was part of a 22-point consensus reached by the 140 participants at the end of the 2014 National Economic Forum held in Senchi in the Eastern Region.

“The review must identify likely deviations and make proposals for plugging the resultant financing gap while the Bank of Ghana traces the implications of the revisions for monetary policy,” stated the President of Ashesi University, Dr Patrick Awuah, who was the Facilitator-General of the Forum.

Dr. Awuah, on behalf of the participants, also called for a mechanism that must be put in place in order to “realign the budget whenever the economy is affected by unanticipated shocks.”

The three-day forum was called by government in order to find a roadmap to solving the economic challenges plaguing the country.

Among participants at the Forum were Former Finance Ministers, Former Bank of Ghana Governors, Parliamentarians, traditional leaders, members of the clergy, civil society organizations and members of the academia.

The Forum, which ended on Thursday, May 12, was chaired by Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, who chairs the country’s Economic Management Team.