Gov't to examined decline in oil prices on the international market to make necessary adjustment to the budget


The Minister of Finance, Seth Tekper, says government is critically examining the drop in crude oil prices on the international market in order to make the necessary adjustment to the budget. 

Mr. Tekper made the comment when he took his turn at the Meet the press series.
 
He said President Mahama has directed the Ministry to monitor the world market and advise cabinet on the way forward.
 
On the IMF negotiations, Mr. Tekper noted that home grown policies are strongly being considered in the discussions. 

He said currently the fund is going through its internal processes and when completed discussions on a Memorandum of Economic Financial Policy will take place before it is signed by the Governor and the Finance Minister.

The Finance Minister said negotiations for the 2015 minimum wage and base pay are currently underway and is hopeful conclusions will be reached before the end of the month. 

The move is part of government's resolve to control the wage bill and improve payroll
management.

On the KPMG Audit report regarding ghost names, Mr. Tekper said the audit was commissioned by government as part of efforts to clean the public payroll.

GBC