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Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has thanked all sides in Parliament for deciding to participate in the 2023 budget presentation today, Thursday November 24.
“I’m eternally grateful to the leadership of NPP, the Majority Caucus and Minority caucus.
“I thank you for your decision to participate in the budget presentation and approval,” he said while presenting the document in Parliament.
The opposition Members of Parliament announced in a statement that they would be in Parliament today Thursday November 24 for the 2023 budget presentation by the Finance Minister.
This, they said, is without prejudice to the investigation that is being done by the 8-member committee on the Finance Minister following the allegations they made against him.
“While we remain committed to seeing through the process to censure the Finance Minister , we are mindful of our duty to carry out oversight on the Executive and preserve the interest of the Ghanaian people whose livelihoods the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration has severely undermined through mismanagement of the economy,” a statement issued by the Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu said.
The leader of the group of NPP Members of Parliament who earlier threatened to boycott the 2023 budget statement Kwame Andy Appiah Kubi had said that the NPP leadership and the leadership of the Majority have spoken to them not to discriminate against anyone who appears to present the budget including Mr Ofori-Atta.
Mr Appiah-Kubi who is also Lawmaker for Asanti-Akyim North said that they expect their constituents to understand them when they comply with the directive by the leadership.
He told Alfred Ocansey on the Sunrise show on 3FM Wednesday November 23 that “We have been told not to discriminate against anyone chosen to present the budget, including ken Ofori-Atta. We expect our constituents to understand us. The mother party has spoken.”
Mr Appiah-Kubi earlier served notice that the aggrieved MPs won’t be in Parliament to support the budget if Mr Ofori-Atta is the one to present the document.
The MPs believe that a new face should replace the Finance Minister due to the current economic challenges.
He told journalists that “We’ve gone back to (our demand for the President to) sack him now and therefore should the budget be presented under the stamp of the Finance Minister, we’ll not participate because as far as we’re concerned we’re never going to do business with him.
“And if we’re not going to do business with him, he does not participate in any process from the Presidency to the House. We will not participate in deliberations too.”
But at a crunch meeting in Accra on Tuesday November 22, the leadership of the party and the Majority group in Parliament in a statement co-signed by Majority Chief Whip Frank Annoh-Dompreh and General Secretary of the NPP, Justin Kodua Frimpong, said “In the meantime, the leadership of the Parliamentary Group and the leadership of the party counselled the Honourbale Members of Parliamentary party to respect to the caucus communications channel , and to the largest extent possible, work together as one caucus unit. .
“Leadership of the party in this regard call upon the Members of Parliament to attend to all Government Business in the House including in particular the 2023 budget statement and economic policy and all connected matters.”
Source: 3news.com
