Ghana’s fiscal deficit said to widen

The IMF has said that Ghana’s fiscal deficit is likely to widen in 2010 – an assessment mission report has indicated.

Already the first half of 2010 fiscal deficit was 5.3% of projected gross domestic product and is slightly higher than the ceiling the government agreed with the IMF, the statement said.

Also the statement added that projections for the second half of the year signal a widening fiscal deficit relative to the government and IMF agreed targets. New government expenditures commitments and shortfalls in some revenue categories have been cited to contribute to the widening deficit.

The statement urged government to adopt contingency fiscal plans to limit fiscal slippages in 2010, to the extent possible.

By Dode Seidu