The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has said that the Finance Minister’s ploy to delay the presentation of the 2023 Budget cannot save him from the impending censure vote by the Minority Caucus.
According to the lawmaker, all previous budgets presented to the House by Ken Ofori-Atta have been worthless as the country’s economic woes deepened under his watch.
In a tweet on Friday, November 4, the North Tongu MP wrote: “Ken Ofori-Atta can choose to illegally delay the Budget presentation to Parliament for as long as he wishes, but that won’t save him. In any case, all his previous 6 Budgets have brought doom and damnation. Budget or no Budget, we’re going ahead with the Censure Vote.”
The Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has disclosed that the current negotiation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) may delay the budget presentation expected by mid-November.
This new development is in contravention of the Public Financial Management Act.
However, as negotiations between the Finance Ministry and the IMF continue, they might not meet the deadline, according to the Majority Leader.
Addressing the press on Thursday, November 3, the Suame MP said a team from the IMF is expected in the country next week for further talks.
“But if you want to do tidy work, you may be required to have some space to be able to do a tidy job. Because, as you all know, these are not normal times,” he said.
The call for Mr Ofori-Atta’s dismissal started with 80 NPP MPs threatening to boycott government business if he is not sacked.
Subsequently, the Minority in Parliament backed the calls by the 80 NPP MPs and filed a vote of censure accordingly.
The censure motion has been admitted and tabled to the House.