Ghana’s government could shut down if they don’t pass a budget before the election

Former officials and experts say that Ghana’s parliament probably won’t pass a temporary budget before the general election on December 7. If they don’t, the government could shut down early next year, which has never happened before.

The country in West Africa is going to choose a new president to replace Nana Akufo-Addo, whose two-term term ends in January. Most of the time, a temporary budget is passed in November before an election to cover the time until the new president starts office.

In an interview, Seth Terkper, who was finance minister from 2013 to 2017, said, “We risk a government shutdown or at best, lean government spending from January.”

Unless a budget is passed in December, he said, the government might have to spend less on interest payments and transfer costs.

Ghana, which grows more cocoa than any other country in the world, hasn’t failed to pass a budget in more than 30 years.
It has been impossible for the parliament of Ghana to decide which of the two main groups has the most seats since October 23.

The statement made by Parliament Speaker Alban Bagbin was found to be against the constitution by the Supreme Court on November 12.

Since then, people have asked Bagbin to recall parliament, but he has refused, saying that doing so would hurt the election campaign.

“This has never been seen before,” Patrick Yaw Boamah, who is in charge of the finance committee in parliament, told Reuters.
A request for comment was sent to the Finance Ministry, but they didn’t reply. The tentative budget had to be turned in by November 15, according to Finance Minister Mohammed Amin Adam.

The temporary budget needs to be passed by Parliament in the next few weeks to avoid cuts and a possible government shutdown.

Workers’ groups in Ghana have been waiting for government to work on a solution before it affects them.

“This is a big issue…” Reuters talked to Joshua Ansah, head of the Trades Union Congress. “We hope they solve it before January so it doesn’t affect salaries.”