Assist gov’t to maintain fiscal discipline – Akufo-Addo to PFRAC

President Akufo-Addo has challenged members of the Presidential Fiscal Responsibility Advisory Council to assist government with their rich experience in economic and financial management in order to maintain “fiscal rectitude” in the management of the country’s economy.

Addressing members of the Presidential Fiscal Responsibility Advisory Council at the Jubilee House after administering the Official Oath and the Oath of Secrecy to them, President Akufo-Addo said the advisory council, which is the second of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa after Mauritius, has been established because of the poor circumstances surrounding the management of the country’s public finances by successive administrations.

“If we are to realize our vision of a ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’, that is a Ghana no longer dependent on the benevolence and charity of foreign tax payers and donors for the management of our public finances. We must change course, hence the establishment of the Presidential Fiscal Responsibility Advisory Council. I am determined that fiscal rectitude becomes an essential feature of our DNA in the management of our nation’s economy,” the President said.

The Role of the PFRAC

According to the President,  the Presidential Fiscal Responsibility Advisory Council has been set up to amongst other things, “assist and advise the President in formulating and implementing a national fiscal responsibility policy that will ensure fiscal discipline in government expenditure and safe guarding the public purse; advice the President on how to ensure that, as provided by law, the budget deficit does not exceed 5% in a fiscal year and the budget yields a positive primary balance; advice the President on how to ensure that the debt-to-GDP ratio does not exceed 65%.

In addition, the PFRAC will develop and recommend policies for the maintenance of prudent and sustainable levels of public debt, ensure that the fiscal balance is maintained at a sustainable level and guarantee the management of fiscal risk in a prudent manner so as to achieve efficiency,  effectiveness and value for money in public expenditure.”

Chairman of the Council

The  chairperson of the Presidential Fiscal Responsibility Advisory Council and former Governor of the Bank of Ghana,  Dr.  Paul Acquah, said on their part as an advisory council,  they will ensure high sense of purpose, and dedication and with due regard to safeguarding the public interests and bolstering confidence in public policy. He called on the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and the Bank of Ghana to collaborate with the Council in order to make their role an effective one.

Members of the PFRAC

Members of Presidential Fiscal Responsibility Advisory Council has Dr. Paul Acquah (Former Governor, of the Bank of Ghana) as its Chairperson. Mr. Abdullah Ali -Nakyea, Managing Partner, Ali-Nakyea & Associates; Prof. Eugenia Amporful, Department of Economics, KNUST; Dr. Nii Noi Ashong, (GIMPA); Prof. Augustine Fosu, Former Deputy Director UN WIDER FINLAD / University of Ghana; Dr. Robert Osei, Director, ISSER and Dr. Nii Kwaku Sowa, Director, Intentional Growth Centre, as members.

Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Wilberforce Asare

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