Ghana's parliament passes provisional budget, averts government shutdown

Accra — Ghana's parliament has passed a provisional budget that allows the government to spend 68.1 billion Ghanaian cedis ($4.65 billion) through March, the chamber's speaker said, narrowly averting an unprecedented government shutdown. Parliamentary Speaker Alban Bagbin said the parliament had approved the provisional budget in a sitting that stretched deep into Thursday night. John Dramani Mahama is set to take office as the West African country's president next week after winning a December 7 election...