Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. John Ampomtuah Kumah has announced that government’s budget allocation to Municipal, Metropolitan, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) for the first quarter of this year will see some 20% reduction.

According to him, the decision is as a result of delays in the passage of the controversial E-Levy and the reversal of the benchmark value policy.

Speaking on Asaase Radio, the MP for Ejisu said the government is cutting down on its expenditure to ensure fiscal consolidation.

"Because of the delay of the E-Levy and the reversal of the benchmark values, the government has announced that first quarter budget allocation to be release to all MMDAs will be discounted by 20%

"So there is clear commitment, you raise and you spend. You don’t spend what you don’t have. So we are going to ensure that we stay within the strict measures of the revenue raised

"And so that is a clear indication that government is also looking at expenditure rationalization and making sure that we don’t over-run the budget. Also, if you look at the growth of revenue for 2022, we are looking at about 40% growth," the Deputy Finance Minister stated.

He continued, "W are looking at spending an extra 25, so that tells you that we are slowing on expenditure to ensure fiscal consolidation."

He said passing the E-Levy is crucial to among other things reducing youth unemployment in the country.

"We believe we will pass E-Levy, we believe once E-Levy is passed we will stay within budget targets, it is ok to have positive ratings from all the agencies, it only shows confidence," he said.

He concluded, "But with or without confidence, we as Ghanaians and managers of this economy, we are very confident of what we are doing and we believe we will put this nation on track just as we have done all these while."