Minority Insists 2024 Budget Isn’t Passed

The Minority in Parliament has challenged the Majority’s stance that the 2024 Budget Statement and Economic Policy has been approved by the House.

In a press statement on November 29, the group of opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC ) legislators, noted that the processes for the passage of the budget were suspended after the Majority staged a walkout, following the revocation of Standing Order 113(2).

It recounted, “The Speaker of Parliament had earlier stated that his voice vote had been challenged under order 113 (2) of the Standing Orders of Parliament. The Speaker put the question for a voice vote twice and stated that in his opinion ‘the ayes have it’.”

“This opinion was subsequently challenged by the Deputy Minority Leader, Hon. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, citing order 113 (2) of the Standing Orders. Order 113(2) calls for a head count of all Members of Parliament present and voting.

“The Speaker then ruled on the motion that the application was in order and that headcount should commence. It was at this point that Majority Members, sensing defeat, started packing, fled the chamber and abandoned their own budget, leaving only the NDC Minority Caucus to carry on with parliamentary business.”

It therefore notes that the Budget has not been passed by the House.

Their challenge followed Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta’s assertion that the Parliament had concluded its obligation to the budget and passed same for implementation.

“At the end of the day, the Speaker put it to vote twice, and he declared that the ‘ayes’ have it. That means the budget, in my view, has been passed. Later, there was a challenge, which has not been resolved. So far as I know and believe, we have the 2024 budget passed until such time that they resolve whatever they want to resolve,” he is cited as saying after the Majority’s walkout.