Parliament endorsed the Government’s Budget Statement and Economic Policy for the year ending December 31, 2021, by a plurality vote on Friday.
After a voice vote, 143 members of the 275-member House voted aye and 137 voted no. Deputy Minority Leader James Klutse Avedzi opposed the findings in favor of ayes.
When the First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei Owusu, was chairing hearings, Mr Avedzi filed his submission, which was endorsed by Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu.
Speaker Alban Bagbin, however, took the chair and granted the application before the First Deputy Speaker could rule on it.
Read Also: Teachers In Israeli Towns Required To Demonstrate Evidence Of Vaccination, Covid Test
On Friday, March 12th, 2021, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Minister of State representing the President at the Ministry of Finance, moved the motion for the debate on the Budget Statement, which was seconded by Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, Minister for Information and MP for Ofoase-Ayirebi, on Tuesday, March 16th, 2021.
The 2021 Budget, titled “Economic Revitalisation by Completion, Stabilization, and Continuity,” aims to strike a delicate balance between fiscal consolidation and facilitating our economy’s recovery after the pandemic.
The Minority and Deputy Majority Leaders, Mr Haruna Iddrisu and Mr Alexander Affenyo-Markin, respectively, discussed the statement for more than three days in the plenary, which was eventually closed by the Minority and Deputy Majority Leaders, Mr Haruna Iddrisu and Mr Alexander Affenyo-Markin.
The Minority Side tried to force a head count, but lost by three votes to the Majority because three of their members were absent from the plenary on Friday, March 19, 2021.
Speaker Bagbin declared that the ayes had 137 votes and the nays had 134 votes at the end of the head count.
As a result, the resolution was approved and carried out.
Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu, in concluding the debates, accused the government of misreporting certain economic statistics.
“We note that the government announced a fiscal deficit of 4.8 percent of GDP for the 2019 fiscal year,” he added. Around the same time, the IMF reported a fiscal deficit of 7.5 percent of GDP in their April 2020 staff study.
“It means that roughly GHS8.2 billion was hidden from our spending system.”
He demanded more clarification on the 1% hike in the National Health Insurance Service Levy, as well as other taxes levied in the 2021 Budget, such as the 1% VAT flat rate rise, betting and gaming levy, Energy Sector Levy of 20 pesewas per litre on petrol, road toll review, Sanitation and Pollution Levy, and Financial Sector cleanup levy.
If the specifics are not given, the Minority Leader, who is also an MP for Tamale South Constituency, has threatened to refuse them.
However, Mr Affenyo-Markin, Deputy Majority Leader and MP for Effutu Constituency, speaking in place of the Majority Leader, praised the government for effectively introducing some of its flagship programs such as One District One Factory (IDIF), Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ), and providing free water and electricity to Ghanaians during COVID-19.
SOURCE: ATLFMONLINE
