Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has insisted the 2024 budget budget statement has been approved by Parliament following the voice vote.
The Majority caucus staged a walkout during the contentious approval process on November 29, 2023, after the
Speaker’s declaration on the voice vote.
The Minority MPs challenged the Speaker’s ruling, demanding a headcount to verify the decision, which led to chaos and the walkout by the Majority.
Addressing journalists after the dramatic turn of events in the Chamber, Ken Ofori-Atta insisted the 2024 Budget has been approved.
He stated, “The Speaker put it to vote twice, and he declared that the ‘ayes’ have it. That means the budget, in my view, has been passed.”
“So far as I know and believe, we have the 2024 budget passed until such time that they resolve whatever they want to resolve.”
The Majority leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu accused the Speaker of stalling the process to allow absent minority members to enter the chamber. He asserted, “What is happening is that there are five members of the minority who are not here. So all that he is doing is playing for time to enable them to come to the Chamber.”
“What kind of attitude is this? That is why we left the Chamber for him, let him do his own thing.”
Minority leader, Cassiel Ato Forson argued the Majority had been defeated in grand style and had to exit the Chamber shamefully.
According to him, the 2024 Budget has not been approved because the Majority lost the vote and are scared of the headcount process, and therefore decided to run away.
“In fact this is the second time in the history of Ghana, sensing defeat the Majority took to their heels. We’ve got them and we will get them again another day. The Majority did not have the numbers to approve their own budget.”
He named the absentee NPP MPs as John Kuma, Mavis Nkansah-Boadu who have travelled outside the country, and Kennedy Agyapong.
Ato Forson explained that the Minority is opposing the budget for very good reasons and stressed the side cannot allow the 2024 Budget to be approved in its current form because ordinary Ghanaians will be the ones to suffer.
He insisted that as things stand now the 2024 Budget has not been approved and the Minority had carried the day and stressed it will win again today.