Government imposes moratorium on vehicle imports

The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has announced that the government has imposed a moratorium on the purchase of imported vehicles till the end of the year. 

He was speaking at a press briefing to outline the government’s economic strategy after members of the cabinet met last weekend to discuss Ghana’s dire economic situation. 

“This will affect all new orders, especially four-wheel drives. We will ensure that the overall effect is to reduce total vehicle purchases by the public sector, at least 50% for the period,” he said.

The suspension of vehicle imports is one, among a number of measures the government says it is instituting to ensure it meets its 7.4% fiscal deficit target until Parliament passes the 2022 budget.

It has, therefore, in addition, imposed a moratorium on foreign travels, except those pre-approved or statutory travels. And a suspension on the establishment of new public sector institutions by the end of April 2022.

Mr. Ofori-Atta notedly blamed the current economic situation on global inflation, covid-19, the Russian-Ukraine war, and the Minority Caucus resistance to not pass the e-levy bill.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, on the domestic front, the challenges include the impasse in Parliament which is adversely affecting government business such as the passage of some revenue bills including the E Levy bill. This is creating uncertainty which has been highlighted as a key risk by the Ratings Agencies and affected our credit spreads, limiting our access to the International Capital Markets,” he said.

Acknowledging that expenditure cuts alone may not be able to mitigate the country's economic woes, he emphasized that it was important that Parliament quickly passes the E-levy bill, the Tax Exemptions bill, and the Fees and Charges bill.