Speaking at a media briefing in Accra ahead of the third Annual Conference of the African Association of Accountants General (AAAG), Mr. Agyei revealed that over 57 percent of Ghana’s domestic revenue is currently being spent on public sector salaries.

“When you sum up all the money that has come in and strike the average, between 57 to 58 percent goes into salaries. This is a threat to fiscal sustainability,” he stated.

He warned that the situation is crowding out investment in critical sectors such as health, education, and infrastructure, making it difficult for the government to finance essential development projects.

“It means almost 60 percent of all domestic revenue is being used to pay salaries, leaving little room for other priority government spending,” he added.

His concerns come amid ongoing efforts by the government to curb expenditure and meet targets under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.

In February, organised labour agreed to a 10% salary increase following an appeal by President John Mahama for moderation in wage demands. The president assured that once economic stability is restored, improved remuneration for workers would be prioritised.

Mr. Agyei stressed the need for urgent reforms to ensure a more balanced and sustainable use of public resources.

Source: AdomOnline

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The Fund’s officials are led by Mission Chief for Ghana, Carlo Sdralevich as the fate of Ghana’s financial future is tabled for discussion amid hue and cry from the public over the ever-increasing cost of living.

The Finance Ministry earlier revealed that the engagement will be a seven-day activity with the IMF officials, government’s Economic Management Team and the Presidency.

According to Presidential Affairs Correspondent, Elton Brobbey, the crunch meeting started this afternoon in Accra.

JoyNews sources say the meeting will discuss various aspects of the economy including expenditure, market reserve management, domestic arrears, expenditure controls and fiscal reporting.

Other issues to be tackled are; monetary and inflation developments, data gathering and reconciliation, revenue among others.

Government has already indicated that its flagship programmes will not be canceled despite the stringent scrutiny and potential conditionalities that accompany such bailouts.

This has attracted attention from critics as beneficiaries and policymakers look to the outcome of the engagement in this regard.

On revenue, JoyNews sources reveal that the electronic transactions levy (E-Levy) will come under scrutiny by the team as part of the revenue mobilsation analysis.

Per reports, the team will look at the design of the e-levy, estimated yield, the mobilisation measure and the nature of its implementation on Thursday.

Fiscal returns for the first half of the year and the 30% expenditure cuts, financial sector payments, the wage bill, internally generated funds will be high on the agenda as well.

Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry is hopeful that the engagement will help restore macroeconomic stability, safeguard debt sustainability, and promote inclusive and sustainable growth as well as address the impact of the war in Ukraine and the lingering pandemic.