Former officials and experts say that Ghana's parliament is unlikely to pass a temporary budget before the December 7 general elections, which could lead to an unprecedented government shutdown early next year. The West African nation is preparing to elect a successor to President Nana Akufo-Addo, whose two-term tenure ends in January. Typically, a temporary budget is passed in November during election years to cover the gap until the elected president takes office. Seth Terkper, former finance minister from 2013 to 2017, warned in an interview that "we risk a government shutdown, or at best, the government will cut spending starting in January." He added that the government may have to reduce interest payments and funding for the transition process unless the budget is passed in December.
Failure to pass the budget would be the first time in more than 30 years for Ghana, the world's second-largest cocoa producer. The Ghanaian parliament has been on indefinite recess since October 23 due to a deadlock over which of the two main parties will hold a majority of seats. The Supreme Court ruled on November 12 that the Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin’s declaration was unconstitutional. Since then, Bagbin has refused calls to convene parliament, stating that it would disrupt the election campaign. "This has never happened before," said Patrick Yaw Boamah, chairman of the parliamentary finance committee. The Ministry of Finance did not respond to requests for comment. Finance Minister Mohammed Amin Adam had set the deadline for submitting the temporary budget as November 15.
Parliament now has only a few weeks to pass the temporary budget to avoid cuts and the risk of a government shutdown. Ghanaian labor unions hope that parliament will find a solution before this issue affects workers. "This is a big issue... We hope they will resolve it before January so it does not affect wages," said Joshua Ansah, head of the Ghana Trades Union Congress.
