Akufo-Addo charges Fiscal Council to assist gov't ensure 'fiscal rectitude'

President Akufo-Addo has challenged members of the Presidential Fiscal Responsibility Advisory Council to assist his administration with their rich experience in economic and financial management. This he said will enable Ghana 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 Council, which is the second of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa after that in the Republic of 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’…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. He further charged the newly inaugurated Financial Stability Advisory Council to do all within its power to assist government in ensuring that the banking system of the country does not slip back into the disastrous occurrences that caused the collapse of several banks in the nation. “We asked ourselves, why did it take so longer to recognize these problems and to deal with them in order to safeguard the public interest. Was this a systems failure, or these banks were simply clever in going about their businesses on the blind side of regulators?” the President asked. “A financial system in distress introduces uncertainty in the economy and undermines the stability and soundness of the financial system. “It is to prevent any disastrous occurrence in the banking system and its ramifications in the entire financial system that my government has taken the bold step to establish the Presidential Financial Stability Advisory Council,” President Akufo-Addo stressed. 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 guard the public purse. The Council is also expected to advise 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; advise 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. In his response, 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 bring to their responsibilities a 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 The 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, and Professor Eugenia Amporful, Department of Economics, KNUST. The rest are 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: 3news.com| Ghana]]>