2022 budget rejection overturned; policy document approved after Minority boycott

Parliament has approved government’s 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, presented to the House by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta on November 17, 2021.

Although the budget was rejected by the House last Friday by the Minority, the Majority Caucus overturned the decision today, Tuesday, November 30, 2021, and approved the document.

The members on the Minority side were absent during the sitting today.

The First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei Owusu, who chaired the sitting, rubbished the purported rejection of the budget, adding that the Speaker, Alban Bagbin, erred in overseeing the exercise since there was no clear majority in the House during the proceedings last Friday.

On Friday, November 26, the Minority Caucus voted to reject the budget after the Majority Caucus staged a walkout.

The Majority Caucus later asked Ghanaians to disregard the supposed rejection of the budget as it was unconstitutional.

A statement from the Majority said: “For the record, the acts of the Minority and the decision of the Speaker to endorse it, constitute an unconstitutionality and an illegality and should be disregarded, as same is void and of no effect whatsoever”.

But the Minority believes the rejection of the budget still stands.

In a statement, the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, called on the Finance Minister to revise the 2022 budget and re-present the document.

He said the revised document must come without the e-levy and the Agyapa royalties deal.

He also demanded that the revised budget captures the construction of the Blekusu sea defense project, among others.