2022 Budget Approved By Ghana’s Parliament After Initial Rejection.

 

Parliament has approved Government’s 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy yesterday 30th November 2021, which was presented by Ken Ofori- Atta, Finance Minister to the House on Wednesday 17th November 2021. 

The budget was rejected in a one-sided decision involving the Minority members last Friday 27th November 2021, after the Majority staged a walkout on grounds that the General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress, John Asiedu Nketia should leave the public gallery because he could influence a voice vote but ignored. 

The Majority group on 30th November 2021, overturned the judgment thus approving it. According to K.T Hammond, a Member of Parliament for Adansi Asokwa Constituency in the Ashanti Region argued outside the chamber on Friday 26th November 2021 when interacting with journalists that their budget nicknamed the “AGYENKWA” Budget is not rejected on grounds that constitutionally it has not been indicated in there and thus deemed illegal. 

The Majority group argued that Ghanaians should regard the information concerning the supposed rejected budget as not true. 

K.T Hammond emphatically stated again today whiles interacting with the media, “The Game is still on. The action will be in play today. There won’t be any more projects in town. The only project in town today is the action on the floor of Parliament. This time you are not going to read my lips, you are going to see it with your naked eyes. We have 138 human beings which we are going to deploy. Every arsenal at our disposal will be displayed today. We are going to pass the 2022 budget. The only action in town today is here in Parliament”.

During the proceedings at Parliament today, the Minority Caucus was missing in the House, the decision making which was headed by the First Deputy Speaker, Hon. Joseph Osei-Wusu, acting in the absence of Speaker Alban Bagbin went ahead with the proceedings to overturn the “rejected budget”. 

The Minority leader Hon. Haruna Iddrissu expressed his disappointment at the decision by the Majority group saying, “The majority say they respect the constitution and the standing orders of the House, today I am particularly disappointed in the conduct of the First Deputy Speaker having to include himself and to exercise himself in order to meet their mandatory defined 138 without recourse or respect to the standing orders and the 1992 constitution. Standing order 109 is on voting’’. Hon. Haruna Iddrissu defends his point by referring to the standing orders of the house particularly Order 108 and Article 104 of the Constitution

He explained that “The Speaker for the day, Joe Osei Owusu, MP for Bekwai had no locus to count himself among the MPs, therefore as far as we are concerned, today’s vote reflected another 137. They were not 138 but 137. They have set a precedent that will come and haunt them in future”. 

Writer: Christiana Aba Dadzie