Heckles, laughter and hisses characterised Friday's debate of the 2003 budget statement in Parliament.

But as usual with unceremonious days on the calendar of Parliament, the House was essentially empty - less than a quarter of the 200 MPs were present when the debate commenced.

There were, however, at least five ministers in the House at a point. These were Yaw Barimah of Works and Housing and his deputy Theresa Tagoe, Roads and Highways' Dr. Richard Anane, Kwamena Bartels of Private Sector Development and a Basic Education Minister, Christine Churcher.

During the debate itself, Mumuni Abudu Seidu sharply distanced himself from the NDC position on the budget.

The Wa Central NDC MP said this year's budget is an "improvement" over the previous year's.

He said it reflects the "extensive" consultations and consensus reached on debates in the House between both sides of Parliament and beyond.

Seidu cited the government's programme as captured by the budget to widen revenue mobilisation to reduce the country's dependence on donors and implement a proposed National Health Insurance Scheme (NHS) this year.

Seidu's statement came as a surprise not only to his colleague NDC MPs but also MPs of the ruling party. This is particularly because Seidu, a pretty independent-minded MP, is not known for stepping out of line with his party's position.

The Minority NDC as a group has described the 2003 economic policy statement as a "killer budget."

"The budget shows that the government has lost control of the economy and all the modest macro-economic gains that were attained in 2002 have been eroded," Moses Asaga, Minority spokesman on finance said at a press conference immediately after the Finance Minister read the budget on Feb. 27

Government's agenda is that the NHS will begin in May this year. And to ensure a smooth take-off and guarantee a basic uniform standard and quality throughout the country, Yaw Osafo-Maafo said the state will intervene.

This is also expected to make the scheme more affordable and sustainable at least in the medium term.

"In this regard, a contribution to the health insurance premium of 2.5 per cent on expenditures and transactions is proposed to provide part of the funding necessary to establish the scheme," the Finance Minister said.

Osafo-Maafo also proposed that workers must benefit from the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) during their working lives. The budget also suggested a review of the existing Social Security Pensions Scheme which provides for worker's welfare after retirement to get SSNIT to contribute a minimum of 2.5 per cent of each worker's contribution of 17.5 per cent to the NHS.

The NPP's Nana Asante-Frempong, MP for Kwabre in a short submission pointed out that commissions banks charge foreign account holders is a big disincentive to banking foreign currency in the country.

But it was K. T. Hammond, Deputy Energy Minister whose contribution brought the House alive.

He accused the Minority of describing the 2003 national economic policy statement as a "budget killer."

Hammond conceded however that it is a killer budget saying, "It is budget killer kills the fungus of economic instability. Abudget killer because it is intended to kill the disease afflicting the economy," he explained off.

But this statement brought the Minority leader, Alban Bagbin to his feet. On a point of order, Bagbin reminded Hammond, who is also the MP for Adansi-Asokwa that nobody had described the budget as a "budget killer" - the Minority has only described the statement as a "killer budget."

Hammond quickly shuffled the debate and returned to the Minority's description of Ghana as a high cost centre of production because of the rise in fuel prices and the cost of other utilities.

Citing a report carried by the Daily Graphic in June, 2000 in which ex-President Jerry Rawlings cautioned Ghanaians to get ready to pay "realistic" prices for fuel and their utilities he questioned the basis of the Minority's argument and rubbished the Minority's position on fuel prices as "intellectually dishonest."

Dr. Benjamin Kunbour, NDC MP for Lawra-Nandom asked Hammond to withdraw the statement because "he (Hammond) was imputing ill-motives."

Hammond said in January a gallon of petrol was selling at over ?33,000 in neighbouring Cote I'voire and Burkina Faso. Cameroon was selling it at ?41,184, the deputy Energy Minister claimed.

But both Bagbin and Dr. Kunbour questioned the calculations of Hammond. They asked Hammond to tell the House the exchange rate he used in getting those figures he claimed the Burkina, Ivorians and Cameroonians were selling their petrol.

Dr. Kunbuor reminded the Deputy Energy Minister that in January the cedi rate was not ?8,800 to a dollar which he used in calculating our neighbours' selling price of a gallon of petrol.

Urged on by his colleague deputy ministers, Christine Churcher and Theresa Tagoe with hisses and giggles directed at the Minority, Hammond hit back and said while our neighbours were selling a litre of petrol for an average of 85 US cents, Ghanaians were buying at 28 cents.