The Department of Data Science and Economic Policy of the School of Economics in collaboration with the Department of Finance, School of Business has organise a round table discussion on the 2020 Budget Statement of Ghana.

The roundtable which has now become an annual programme of the two departments was on the theme “The 2020 Budget Statement of Ghana: Business as usual or a Game Changer?”
    
Speaking at the forum, the Dean of the School of Economics, Dr. Emmanuel Asmah, commended the current government for the impeccable macroeconomic gains achieved since they assumed office in 2017. He noted that strict efforts aimed managing the fiscal and monetary policies had resulted in lower inflation rate, bringing relative stability in the exchange rate. He said these efforts have also strengthened foreign reserves and other indicators as evidence that the country was enjoying stable macroeconomic environment.

 Dr. Asmah, however, pointed out the government would struggle to sustain the current stability and the good prospects of the economy in the run-up to the 2020 elections. He noted that over the years, governments overspend during election years which had resulted in budget overruns.
 
A senior lecturer at the Department of Finance, Rev. Dr. George Nii Tackie, said the government must as a matter of urgency enforce tax regulatory compliance and enforcement to raise enough revenue for the country’s development projects. He said this has become necessary because the government has over the years failed woefully to meet its revenue targets noting that “The government is projecting to raise GH¢67.1 billion, in the 2020 budget statement which is up from the projected outrun for 2019 of GH¢54.6 billion,”.