After the rejection of the 2022 budget statement provided by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, Member of Parliament for North Tongu Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said the 8th Parliament would not review it.
The budget was rejected by the Minority MPs in Parliament on Friday after a voice vote. This was done in the absence of the Majority Caucus, which had staged a walk-out to protest Speaker Alban Bagbin’s “bias.”
The ruling was regarded by the Majority as unconstitutional, and the public was advised to disregard it.
Following the Majority’s criticism, Mr Ablakwa took to social media to highlight that the 2022 budget will not be brought back to the House and that “we are burying it for good.”
It was an honor for him, he said, to guarantee that the people’s desire about the budget’s non-approval was carried out.
“I am pleased that we were able to eliminate the deadly budget.” The government’s only patriotic alternative is to eat humble pie and produce a new budget that must be the result of extensive collaboration with Ghanaians,” he continued.
He emphasized that the only budget that Parliament would pass is one that does not include “the regressive and offensive e-levy, the Fees & Charges 15 percent rise, and the unlawful automatic inflation adjustment.” It also has to get rid of Agyapa and the spurious Aker story.”
He said the House would adopt a new budget that includes funding for Phase 2 of the Blekusu Coastal Protection Project, which will help the approximately 4,000 people affected by recent disastrous tidal surges.
He reaffirmed the Minority’s pledge to stand with the Ghanaian people and thanked the general public for their support and solidarity.
He previously stated that the Minority in Parliament “killed the killer budget for God and the Ghanaian people” in a tweet.
Meanwhile, Speaker Alban Bagbin has reaffirmed his commitment to working for the country’s greatest interests.
The Speaker, through the Public Affairs Directorate of Parliament, stated that there was no evidence of prejudice during the approval of the 2022 budget, as indicated by the Majority Group.
He remarked, “Parliament would like to reassure citizens that claims of prejudice are untrue and should not be entertained.”