One Budget: Two political interpretations

The Minister of Finance work the Financial Year (FY) 2026 Budget astir 2 weeks ago.

As usual, the presumption was greeted with the accustomed governmental theatrics that person travel to characterise fund presentations. 

Even much intriguing is observing the statement astir the fund connected the level of Parliament, wherever 1 is tempted to inquire if we are speechmaking from the aforesaid fund oregon possibly determination were 2 versions prepared by the Finance Minister- 1 for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and different for the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

I indispensable rapidly adhd that this improvement of governmental polarisation astir budgets is not unsocial to Ghana. After all, the state successful which I unrecorded and enactment conscionable experienced a 43-day national authorities shutdown implicit a fund impasse.

In Ghana, we bash not hazard a shutdown due to the fact that our governmental contests truthful acold person not produced divided outcomes wherever the enforcement is controlled by 1 enactment and the legislature by another.

But my reflection leads maine to inquire 1 question – wherefore is it progressively becoming hard for our politicians to find points of reconciliation connected matters arsenic important arsenic the budget?

What budgets represent

The mean national is nary alien to what budgets are. When I deliberation of the budget, I bash truthful on 3 important dimensions.

First, the fund is the fiscal governance blueprint for the country, which allows a authorities to springiness an relationship to citizens connected however the nation’s resources are being spent and the results it is producing oregon not.

It besides provides a authorities with the accidental to show its intentions of however it plans to walk the nation’s resources and the results it expects to spot if each plans materialise. 

Second, the fund is simply a argumentation instrumentality and that is seen successful the afloat rubric of the country’s fund document.

The argumentation portion of the fund enables a authorities to connection solutions to cardinal challenges facing the state but wrong the discourse of its assets opportunities and limitations.

It is successful the fund that the authorities tin accidental these argumentation solutions are imaginable due to the fact that we cognize however galore resources we person oregon expect to person implicit the adjacent year.

Third, I deliberation of budgets arsenic an accountability tool. Notice that erstwhile the fund is read, determination is an relationship of the existent and erstwhile fiscal year.

Accounting allows citizens to inquire whether a authorities kept its committedness oregon not.

And if a authorities did not support its commitment, what were the consequences for the country’s resources? For the citizen, it is an accidental to find whether determination should beryllium governmental consequences for this.

Keep successful mind, accountability is not lone astir punishing wrong, but besides astir rewarding close behaviour.

Thus, erstwhile a authorities honours its commitments and the outcomes are positive, citizens tin determine to reward it politically.

Political interpretation

It is the 3rd constituent above, the governmental rewards and punishment system, that I judge drives the effect of ruling and absorption parties.

For ruling parties, the quality to show that their fund represents a way of affirmative outcomes for citizens is critically important.

So, successful the past, adjacent erstwhile governments imposed achy economical and fiscal policies connected citizens, it was framed arsenic a instrumentality to turn jobs and fortify the economy.

It, therefore, comes arsenic nary astonishment to perceive the ruling enactment (NDC) talk of the fund utilizing affirmative narratives.

For absorption governmental parties, the quality to show that a fund is bare and represents nary anticipation of addressing the nation’s challenges is 1 mode to triumph the hearts and minds of voters successful anticipation of the adjacent election.

It, therefore, comes arsenic nary astonishment erstwhile the main absorption enactment (NPP) speaks of the fund utilizing antagonistic narratives.

But successful betwixt the 2 extremes are points of reconciliation that show definite basal facts astir the existent authorities of the country’s finances and system based connected information from institutions tasked with the work of keeping track.

Unless 1 doubts information from the Bank of Ghana oregon the Ghana Statistical Service, for example, past we tin hold connected immoderate things: a) the system has stabilised; b) the economical indicators person changed their trajectory and look affirmative for now, and c) the fiscal outlook of the state has improved.

Based connected these basal facts, a work done the FY 2026 Budget signals the government’s volition to determination beyond stabilisation to a way of maturation portion addressing immoderate of the challenges facing the country.

For citizens, erstwhile the partisan rancour is over, what volition substance to them is however good the fund addresses their pinch points.

And nary substance the polarised interpretations of the budget, it is their lived experiences that would beryllium the existent trial of what happened.

The writer is the Project Director, Democracy Project