Kwaku Kwarteng, the chairman of the finance committee, says Parliament must work to pass the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the government immediately since it is racing against time.
Speaking on the Asaase Breakfast show on Wednesday (24 November), Kwarteng cautioned against the rejection of the 2022 Budget stating that any such move will have dire financial implications for the country.
“By 1 January 2022, there will be no mandate for the government to spend. The only option will be for the president to declare a state of emergency so that he can spend. There’s no way Ghanaians will accept that because Parliament has not passed the appropriation bill, as government workers, they’re not going to receive salaries. So, the president will have to declare a state of emergency and I don’t want that.”
“Now that the budget is finished and is before us [Parliament], we’re racing against time because we must pass the budget before1 January 2022. So, you could see that normally we have four persons from each side of Parliament debating it but because of time, we limited it to two,” he said.
The Minority and some Ghanaians have spoken against the budget which was presented by the Finance Minister last Wednesday (17 November). The Minority says the budget if approved will worsen the plight of Ghanaians.
A ranking member on the finance committee of Parliament, Cassiel Ato Forson, during the budget debate on Tuesday (23 November) described Ghana’s economy as sick which needs treatment.
This was, however, sharply opposed by the Majority.
Nicholas Brown
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