Tue Mar 5, 2013 5:44am EST
By Kwasi Kpodo
ACCRA, March 5 (Reuters) - Ghana's 2013 budget aims to trim the fiscal deficit to 9 percent, from just over 12 percent in 2012, by enhancing tax revenues and controlling expenditures, a source with knowledge of the document said on Tuesday.
Ghana's deficit has been a source of concern for international investors and analysts, who say it poses concerns about the strength of the currency and prospects for long-term growth in the oil, cocoa, and gold producer.
"The focus of the (2013) budget is to achieve a deficit target of of 9 percent of GDP this year mainly through expenditure control and enhanced tax revenue from traditional and oil sources," the source told Reuters.
The West African state's spending plan assumes an economic growth rate of 8 percent and targets an inflation rate of 9 percent. Ghana's finance minister will present the budget to parliament later on Tuesday.
Ghana's 2012 deficit hit 12.1 percent of GDP, almost double its target of 6.7 percent, due to increased public sector wages, a shortfall in projected tax revenue and widening fuel subsidies, the central bank said last month.
Fitch Ratings said in February it revised its outlook on Ghana to negative from stable, citing the deficit's risks to growth.
Razia Khan, Africa researcher for Standard Chartered Bank, said the new deficit target was unlikely to do enough to restore fiscal credibility to Ghana.
"It's a huge deficit for any country to be running, let alone one with a nominal GDP growth rate of around 17 percent and a real growth rate of eight percent," she said.
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