The speaker (middle) in group photograph with a cross-section of the MPs at the workshop
The Speaker of Parliament, Prof Mike Oquaye, has appealed to Members of Parliament (MPs) to conduct research in order to effectively debate the 2018 budget statement which is expected to take place on the floor of the House during this week.
The speaker said MPs, who would be debating the budget, must speak to the issues raised in the budget dispassionately without extreme partisanship, stressing that he would apply the rules strictly if MPs deviate from the issues.
Prof Oquaye made the appeal at a post-budget workshop for MPs in Koforidua over the weekend.
The workshop, which was also addressed by Finance Minister, was to explain the technicalities raised in the budget and also equip them with the knowledge to debate the budget effectively and dispassionately.
The speaker also said he would not entertain unnecessary points of order just to disrupt the thoughts of MPs in debating and to score political points.
He said MPs must also use records in the Hansard as the main source of reference to enrich the debate.
The Majority leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, said MPs must do constructive critique to reform and not to destroy.
He noted that MPs must apprise themselves with current expenditure and capital expenditure and when debating must be able to place them in the proper context.
The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, said the budget was carefully crafted to create jobs and bring prosperity to Ghanaians
He said the prosperity will be for all Ghanaians and therefore urged the MPs to be more nationalistic and work together to help the executive achieve the set economic targets to bring the needed development to the country.
The Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu said that the minority was prepared to work with the majority in parliament and the government as well to bring the needed development.
He lauded the government for the vision to create jobs for the jobless, adding that the creation of ‘Nation Builders Corps’ by the 2018 budget is in the right direction since it will help provide 100,000 jobs for graduates.
He appealed to the Finance Minister to ensure that the intended jobs would not be provided for only NPP followers or just a section of the populace, stressing that all Ghanaians must be given the equal opportunity to get jobs to do.
He, however, said that the budget was not consistent with some base figures and that the minority was prepared to subject the document to constructive scrutiny.
Some of the topics the MPs were taken through were “Policy Underpinnings of the 2018 Budget”, “Macro-Economic and Fiscal Overview of the 2018 Budget,” Decentralisation and Composite Budgeting” among others.
By Thomas Fosu Jnr