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Minority describes approval of 2022 Budget as a nullity
The Minority in Parliament has described as a nullity the approval of the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government by the House on Tuesday, November 30.
On November 26, 2021, 137 Members on the Minority side voted to reject the Budget, during which the Majority side staged a walkout.
Tuesday’s reinstatement and approval of the Budget was carried out by the 137 Majority MPs as the First Deputy Speaker, Mr Joseph Osei-Owusu, MP of Bekwai presided.
However, the Minority was absent from the Chamber of the House.
Mr Haruna Iddrisu, the Minority Leader, speaking at a press conference after the Majority’s approval, said he was unhappy with the decision of the First Deputy Speaker, who sat in as the Speaker to include himself and to exercise a vote in order to meet their mandatory defined 138 majority votes without recourse to the Standing Orders of Parliament and to the 1992 Constitution.
“Standing Order 109:2 reads that Mr Speaker has neither an original nor a casting vote and if upon any question before the House, the votes are equally divided, the motion shall be lost,” he said.
He said the Constitution says “A Deputy Speaker or any other Member, presiding, shall not retain his original vote while presiding”.
“So, constitutionally they were also 137, so Ghanaians should also expect that what they had done is also a nullity to quote them if we are to respect the provisions of the Constitution.”
The, First Deputy Speaker, however, explained later that he counted himself for the records and not to cast a vote.
On why the Minority did not participate in Tuesday’s sitting, Mr Iddrisu said the Majority Side did consult them prior to the sitting and that they were to approve the Budget subject to concessions granted by the Minister of Finance.
However, there were no concessions in the Budget; he said, adding; “and, therefore, what are they approving?”
Mr Iddrisu said the Minority’s views were that the Budget should be revised to reflect those concessions before it would be approved by Parliament.
The Minority was against the introduction of the Electronic levy (E-levy) and the re-introduction of the Agyapa Deal in the 022 Budget and wanted a downward revision of the E0-levy to one per cent for the good of the Ghanaian people.
The Minority Leader said they were determined to support the Government in its efforts to redeem the economy. -GNA
The Member of Parliament for Ofoase Ayirebi, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has disbursed GHS134,000 to 22 students under the latest round of his Scholarship and Bursaries Programme.
According to a statement from his office, the 22 beneficiaries are enrolled in 16 tertiary institutions across the country.
They are studying various courses, including medicine, marketing, law, public health, midwifery, business administration, education, and secretaryship.
The MP’s office commended the beneficiaries, especially the five students currently studying medicine and physician assistantship, encouraging them to remain committed to their studies.
The statement indicated that the scholarship initiative, which began in 2017, aims to support brilliant but needy students from the Ofoase Ayirebi Constituency to further their education. So far, about 700 students have benefited from the program.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Four tricycle operators, popularly known as ‘Pragya’, have been prosecuted and fined GH¢600 each equivalent to 50 penalty units by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) Sanitation Court for obstructing public roads at the Agbogbloshie Market.
The offenders, who were arrested by Public Health Officers of the AMA during a routine enforcement exercise, pleaded guilty to the offence and were subsequently convicted by the court.
The four operators were among the 21 offenders recently arrested at the Agbogbloshie Market for various sanitation and public order violations, including selling on open drains, obstructing walkways, and trading at unauthorised locations.
Speaking after the court proceedings, the Head of Public Health at the AMA, Madam Florence Kuukyi, said the court was lenient with the offenders since it was their first appearance, hence the fine, and warned that subsequent offenders would face stiffer penalties, including imprisonment.
