A group calling itself Patriotic Forum For Accountable Governance (PaFFAG) has slammed the Speaker of Parliament and the Minority over the rejection of the 2022 budget statement.
The group claims that the budget was not constitutionally rejected hence Ghanaians should disregard that.
Addressing a press conference, the leader of the group, Kwame Baffour aka Abronye said: “As a matter of fact, even though Parliament has the legal mandate to reject or accept any policy proposal most specifically a budget statement that may come before it, they ought to do so in the spirit of patriotism, statesmanship, and nationalism.
On this basis I would like to state that, before Parliament will consider approving or rejecting the 2022 budget, the Ghanaian value of nationalism must be paramount and not partisanship. A decision to approve or reject the budget is one that will affect all Ghanaians and not the minority or majority and therefore the minority in parliament or the people’s representatives must take decisions that will be in the interest and reflect the desires of their constituents and not a decision that will inflict pains and fulfill their political agenda.
I am very much surprised why the Minority MP’s and the NDC fraternity which is known to be a social Democratic Party which must be seen supporting economic and social interventions to promote social justice within the framework of a liberal democratic state should jubilate over a supposed budget rejection. A party suggesting to be the solution to plight of Ghanaians and posing to be an antidote to their sufferings is rather ecstatic and happy over a supposed budget rejection.
We are here today to basically let Ghanaians know why the NDC and the minority intend to use their numbers in parliament to inflict pain on Ghanaians by resisting the 2022 economic Policy statement otherwise known as the budget on flimsy grounds.”
He further alleged that the Minority demanded a bribe before approving the budget.
“As a matter of fact, the speaker of parliament who is also a social democrat and a card bearing member of the NDC is reluctant in ensuring the right thing because the finance minister Hon Ken Ofori Atta rejected the request` of the Speaker to allocate Gh¢1.7 billion of taxpayer’s monies to parliament alone.
Like we are all aware, parliament’s primary duties is to enact laws. They do not execute developmental projects. Parliament does not build roads, construct hospitals, provide educational infrastructure, establish factories yet the speaker is demanding a whooping Gh¢1.75 billion under the guise of parliamentary business.
The speaker is only trying to use his antics to pay back the finance minister for rejecting his Gh¢1.7billion allocation request for parliamentary business.
The simple question here is;
Will the speaker use part of the Gh¢1.7billion to construct roads?
Will the speaker use part of the Gh¢1.7 billion to build hospitals?
Will the speaker use part of the Gh¢1.7 billion to create employment for the ordinary Ghanaians?
Gh¢1.7billion can build about 15 modern district hospitals, fund 98% of our secondary school infrastructure, pay contractors to dualize the Accra Kumasi Highway, Establish over 70 factories in the Upper West, Upper East, Brong Ahafo and other regions.
Above all, Gh¢1.7billion can be used to solve the Keta Sea Defense Project we are all worried about.
In fact the recent spending by the Office of the Speaker is unimaginable and unprecedented.
Our checks indicate that the Office of the Speaker alone has spent about Gh¢25 million since he assumed office. These expenses include expenditures on foreign travels, per diems, allowances, incentives for staff of which her family member Patience Bagbin member is included, medical expenses, Etc. The expenditure by the Speaker alone can construct 10 chip compounds.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
