Ghana's government "inherits" budget deficit of about 10 percent

Ghana’s budget deficit could be twice as big as previously forecast.

Finance minister Ken Ofori- Atta said on Wednesday that the new government inherited a budget deficit of about 10 percent of economic output.

“We are still in the process of gathering information,” said Ofori-Atta who will propose the 2017 budget next month.

He added that the budget would outline measures to cut waste, widen revenue sources and reduce levies.

The news came a day after the government revealed a 7 billion cedi ($1.6 billion) gap in the budget.

A deficit higher than the target could reduce the amount president Nana Akufo-Addo’s government can spend on development programmes in the west African nation.

It is a politically sensitive matter because Ghana is more than halfway through a three-year $918 million International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme aimed at stabilising the economy.

This is a blow to Ghana which only a few years ago was a beacon of economic development in Africa, but has been hard hit by falling commodity prices.