“As already indicated, govern­ment intends to prioritise fiscal discipline in its bid to stabilise the economy whilst achieving an appreciable level of growth. It is therefore, commendable to see the adoption of some expendi­ture rationalisation measures in the budget,” it said in a report on the firm’s view on the budget presented to parliament recently.

Expenditure rationalisation measures in budget

Total expenditure for 2025 is projected at GH¢268.7 billion, an increase from GH¢226.2 billion outturn in 2024.

Primary expenditure is programmed for GH¢204.6 billion in 2025, an increase from GH¢179.5 billion recorded in 2024.

Compensation of employees, comprising wages and salaries, pensions, gratuities, and social security has been programmed at GH¢76.6 billion.

This reflects the 10 per cent increase in the base pay granted to public servants on the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS).

Of all the components of total expenditure, only goods and services were budgeted to decline from a GH¢11.5 billion in 2024 to GH¢7.0 billion in 2025, a reduc­tion of 39 per cent.

Considering the expenditure control measure, Deloitte in its re­port said “Having already showed clear intention to contain gov­ernment expenditure by reducing the number of ministers and ministries, it is refreshing to also note that the 2025 budget for the goods and services component of the expenditure budget reflects a 39 per cent decrease from the 2024 actual amount.”

According to Deloitte this further “gives credence to the President’s commitment to cut waste and prioritise cost efficiency going forward.”

Furthermore, it said the other expenditure rationalisation measures such as government’s resolve to enforce the Public Financial Management Act across all public entities, integrating the financial management systems and prioritising value for money in public procurement could poten­tially increase transparency, reduce waste and curb corrupt practices in government spending.

Deloitte however stated that “Whilst commending government for its expenditure rationalisation commitments, it is important to note that, without strong controls and systems to accompany the implementation of these expendi­ture rationalisation measures, we may be unable to achieve the set objectives.”

In this regard, it recommend to the government to properly re­source the Internal Audit Agency (IAA) to allow for it to adequately perform its mandated function

 of auditing the SOEs to ensure strict compliance to the proposed measures.

“Whilst the Minister’s state­ment in paragraph 295 of the budget speech indicate expected decrease in total expenditure by 3.8 per cent from GH¢279.2 bil­lion in 2024 to GH¢269.1 in 2025, the detailed breakdown of the expenditure, which was presented as Appendix 2C and 3C in the full budget statement, rather indicate expected increase in the total expenditure by 18.8 per cent from provisional outturn GH¢226.2 bil­lion in 2024 to GH¢268.7 billion in 2025,” it indicated.

The report then urged the Minister of Finance to provide clarification on this in his subse­quent engagements using appro­priate channels like parliament.