General News of Monday, 4 December 2017

Source: starrfmonline.com

Minority to resist approval of 2018 budget

Some minority members in parliament Some minority members in parliament

The Minority in Parliament has hinted that it will resist the approval of the 2018 budget on Tuesday, December 5.

The NDC MPs have maintained that the Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta breached the public finance management act in the presentation of the mid-year budget review.

Speaking at a workshop for parliamentary press corps, Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu disclosed that his side will strongly make their case during the final debate on Tuesday.

“There is an act which is in place which governs all the matters relating to the financial procedure of Parliament, are we in breach of it or are we in honour of it?.

“You can have the numbers but your numbers cannot override the laws of Ghana and I say so without any fear of contradiction that a majority party cannot with its numbers override the laws of Ghana…we must respect the laws of Ghana.”

The 2018 Budget themed “Putting Ghana back to work” is informed by President Akufo-Addo’s coordinated programme for economic and social development policies which aims at creating a conducive environment for the private sector to thrive, propel growth and create employment opportunities, especially for the youth.

The 2018 budget presented to Parliament by Finance Minister, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, on Wednesday, November 15, is also seeking the approval to spend some GHC61 billion.