 |
| Policy Area | Objectives and Targets
|
Strategies and Measures
|
Timing of Measures |
Technical Assistance Requirements
|
|
| I. Fiscal Policies
|
| A. Overall objective
| Promote macroeconomic stability.
| Achieve an increase in the
domestic primary budget surplus from 0.3 percent of GDP in 1996 to 3.2 percent of GDP in
1997 and 4.3 percent of GDP in 1998, and about 5 percent in 1999-2000.
| 1998-2000
|
| B. Revenue
| Improve domestic revenue mobilization.
Strengthen tax administration.
| Table in Parliament legislation to create a central
revenue authority.
| March 1998
| |
|
| Establish a central revenue authority
| June 1998
| |
|
|
| Ensure that no discretionary tax and customs exemptions
can be granted without parliamentary approval. Implement an exemptions monitoring and
reporting system, to ensure transparency and control.
| 1998
| |
|
| Restructure tax system in favor of
expenditure-based taxation. Promote incentives for private investment.
| Introduce a VAT replacing the sales tax and
extending coverage to services and retail sectors.
| 1998
| IMF, 1998 DFID, 1998 WB, 1998-9
|
|
| Complete the assignment of taxpayer
identification numbers to the targeted group of
taxpayers.
| June 1998
|
|
|
|
| Simplify the tax system and convert specific
excises to ad valorem rates.
| Budget 1998
|
|
|
|
| Harmonize the withholding tax on dividends and
on interest.
| Budget 1998
|
|
|
|
| Gradually reduce cocoa taxation (see Agriculture)
| 1998-2000
|
|
|
|
| Announce application of import withholding tax
to importers not registered for the VAT, in
accordance with the tax law
| 1999-2000
|
|
|
|
| Adjust income tax brackets for inflation.
| 1999-2000
|
|
| C. Expenditure
| Improve efficiency and
effectiveness of public
expenditure through improved
allocation and management of
public resources.
| Reduce total spending relative to GDP, as per
program.
| 1998-2000
|
|
|
| Begin monthly projection of cash flow for the
budget and monitor outturns as the basis for
managing the public sector borrowing
requirement.
| March 1998
|
|
|
|
| Complete medium-term expenditure framework
(MTEF) for priority sectors of education, health,
and roads. Prioritize investment projects
consistent with macroeconomic objectives and
budget constraints.
| June 1998
| DFID, WB, 1998-99
|
|
|
| Cabinet approval of budget ceilings for priority
sectors and of the guidelines for the 1999 budget.
| September 1998
|
|
|
|
| Manual testing and phased implementation of
BPEMS system to all ministries and spending units.
| 1998-2000
| WB, 1998-2000
|
|
| D. Local government
| Develop capacity at the local
government level to assist the
government in its decentralization
initiative.
| Develop action plan for decentralization, including
the design of financial and administrative
arrangements.
| 1998
| CIDA, 1998
|
|
|
| II. Public Sector Reform
| Achieve a smaller and more effective public service.
| Remedy operational deficiencies of the Integrated
Personnel and Payroll Database (IPPD) System.
| June 1998
| WB, 1998 DFID, 1998
|
|
|
| Launch rationalization of the regulatory regime for
subvented agencies.
| Budget 1998
| WB, 1998
|
|
|
| Launch rationalization of the size and pay structure
of civil service and subvented agencies.
| Budget 1998
| WB, 1998
|
|
|
| Identify subvented agencies to be reincorporated
into the budget, privatized or closed.
| September 1998
|
|
| Accelerate and expand divestiture program.
| From the divestiture list of state-owned enterprises
(SOE) offer for sale an additional 20 SOEs and at least two of the following: the State
Housing Corporation, State Insurance Corporation, and Mim Timber processing plant.
| 1998
| WB,
1998-2000
|
|
|
| III. Monetary Policy and
Financial Sector Reform
| Reduce inflation through monetary restraint.
| Control monetary growth through targeting of
reserve money, as per program.
| 1998-2000
|
|
| Encourage the mobilization of financial savings and
encourage net inflows of capital.
| Maintain positive real interest rates on bank deposits
through appropriately tight liquidity management.
| 1998-2000
|
|
|
| Enhance the effectiveness of the system
of indirect monetary control and develop the secondary market in domestic debt instruments.
| Strengthen open market operations through the use
of wholesale auction of treasury bills and refrain from signaling indicative cutoff prices.
| 1998-2000
| IMF, 1998
|
|
|
| Introduce a centralized book-entry system at the
Bank of Ghana.
| June 1998
|
|
|
| Expand instruments of liquidity management to
include repurchase agreements initiated by the
Bank of Ghana.
| June 1998
|
|
|
| License appropriate number of primary dealers.
| 1998-2000
| IMF, 1998
|
|
| Review liquidity ratios with a view to reducing them
to levels needed for prudential purposes.
| 1998-2000
|
|
|
| Improve efficiency of financial sector by
accelerating financial sector reforms and promoting greater competition through divestiture.
| Divest 60 percent of the shares of the National
Investment Bank.
| 1998
| WB, 1998
|
| Offer for sale the Reinsurance Corporation after
commercial restructuring.
| December 1998
| WB, 1998
|
|
|
| Strengthen banking supervision.
| 1998-2000
| IMF, 1998 WB, 1998
|
|
|
| IV. External Sector Policy
|
|
|
|
|
| A. Exchange System
| Broaden and deepen the foreign exchange market.
| Encourage transactions among market participants
by facilitating flow of information regarding market conditions.
| 1998
|
|
| B. External Debt Management
| Reduce external debt service burden.
| Strictly limit new short-term borrowing and adhere
to ceilings envisaged in the program regarding new nonconcessional public and publicly
guaranteed borrowing. Publish list of guaranteed loans in the budget documents.
| 1998-2000
|
|
|
| Regularize relations with external creditors.
| Intensify efforts to conclude bilateral agreements
with Paris Club creditors regarding the deferred arrears.
| 1998
|
|
| C. Trade Policy
| Ensure that trade system enhances external
competitiveness.
| Reduce distortions through reduction of zero-rating
and exemptions, and other measures.
| 1998
|
|
|
|
| V. Sectoral Policies
|
|
|
|
|
| A. Petroleum Sector Reforms
|
| Offer for sale GNPC's non-oil-related assets.
| March 1998
|
|
|
|
| Replace uniform national pump prices with uniform
ex-regional depot wholesale prices.
| March 1998
|
|
|
|
| Reduce GNPC's debt to the Bank of Ghana to
— ¢
18 billion
— zero
|
March 1998
June 1998
|
|
|
| Offer for sale Tema Oil Refinery Ltd. and the Ghana
Oil Company Ltd.
| June 1998
| WB, 1998
|
|
|
| Restructure GNPC and relieve it of all functions
unrelated to hydrocarbon and energy-related activities.
| 1998
|
|
|
|
| Decontrol retail petroleum prices (ex-depot) subject
to safety and competition standards, followed by the fully competitive operation of TOR.
| 1998-2000
| WB, 1998
|
|
|
| Rationalize institutional responsibilities for
hydrocarbon exploration to increase transparency.
| 1998
|
|
| B. Agriculture Environment
| Liberalize the cocoa sector.
| Increase farmers' share in f.o.b. price of cocoa to:
|
| WB,
1998-2000
|
|
| 56 percent
| June 1998
|
|
|
|
| 58 percent
| June 1999
|
|
|
|
| 60 percent
| June 2000
|
|
|
|
| Identify two-year program of cost-cutting measures
for the Cocoa Board to support at least one half of the intended increase in the share of the
producers.
| March 1998
|
|
|
|
| Offer for sale the Produce Buying Company
(PBC).
| June 1998
|
|
|
|
| Unify extension services of the Cocoa Board and
Ministry of Agriculture.
| June 1998
| WB, 1998-99
|
|
| Ensure conservation of natural resources
and protection of the environment.
| Strengthen extension services to implement soil
fertility program.
| 1998-2000
|
|
|
| Increase stumpage fees to reduce subsidies for wood
processing and preserve forest resources.
| 1998-2000
| WB,
1998-2000
|
|
|
| Establish a national integrated water management
program with further strengthening and development of the institutional and regulatory
framework.
| 1998-2000
| WB,
1998-2000
|
| C. Infrastructure | |
|
|
|
|
|
a.
Urban
Infrastructure
| Increase coverage, quality, and efficiency
of water supply, sanitation, waste management, and drainage.
| Increase coverage, quality, and efficiency of water
supply, sanitation, waste management, and
drainage.
| 1998-2000
| WB,
1998-2000
|
|
| Increase private sector participation and cost
recovery in water supply, sanitation, waste
management, and drainage.
| 1998-2000
| WB,
1998-2000
|
b.
Rural
Infrastructure
| Expansion in coverage of feeder roads and market
infrastructure.
| Expand and improve feeder road network and village
market infrastructure.
| 1998-2000
| WB,
1998-2000
|
| c. Power
| Ensure the financial viability of the power sector.
| Increase electricity tariffs to restore and maintain the
financial viability of power utilities.
| 1998-2000
| WB,
1998-2000
|
| d. Roads
| Improve the road network.
| Implement road improvement program as agreed
under the donor-supported Highway Sector
Investment Program.
| 1998-2000
| WB,
1998-2000
|
| e. Rail
| Improve operational efficiency and financial
viability.
| 1998-2000
| WB,
1998-2000
|
| f. Ports
| Improve operational efficiency and capacity.
| Increase participation of the private sector in port
management and operations.
| 1998-2000
|
|
| D. Human Resource
Development |
|
|
|
|
|
| a. Education
| Improve the quality of schooling, equity of access,
and management efficiency and increase the literacy rate.
| Implement the donor-supported Basic Education
Sector Improvement Program.
| 1998-2000
| WB, DFID, USAID, and others, 1998-2000
|
| b. Health
| Improve health outcomes.
| Implement the donor-supported Health Sector
Investment Program.
| 1998-2000
| WB,
1998-2000
|
|
|
| VI. Statistical issues
| Improve quality and timeliness of statistics.
| Begin publishing new national consumer price
index.
| March 1998
|
|
|
|
| Publish revised and updated national accounts
(sources and uses) for 1995 and 1996.
| March 1998
|
|
|
|
| Allocate resources and improve quality and
timeliness of national accounts and price, balance of payments, public finance (including
debt), and monetary statistics.
| 1998-2000
| IMF, WB, DFID, and others, 1998-2000
|
|
