According to him, this practice which has occurred over the years in the House does not allow for quality and in-depth debate on issues raised in the budget.

[contextly_sidebar id=”bL6TSh51NOfOuHAHqqu8cCCHrIGrsUu5″]The Chairpersons and Ranking members of selected committees and leaders of the house, are expected to pitch camp from later on Friday through to Monday in Koforidua, to dissect the 2018 budget.

But according to Haruna Iddrisu, the absence of many of their colleagues at this crucial workshop is not the best.

“The Ministry of Finance post budget workshop  must be for every elected Member of Parliament, and not selected. All Members of Parliament, and that is why I am saying Mr. Speaker; let it be our collective decision today that going forward, that anytime the Minister will come, one week before it, he must have made sufficient preparations with the clerk and the Speaker that he has sufficiently provided for every member to attend the post budget workshop.

“It should not be the case that we are selecting leaders, Chairmen, Vice Chairmen, Ranking and others. It is not proper, and it is not acceptable. That is why I said that it has happened. I am defining a new position of a paradigm shift today. I hear in the past, sometimes this chamber was used for some of these purposes, but what we are saying is that, the leader and the Speaker should not have budgetary constraints. It is a principle because most of our colleagues all need to experience the resourcefulness of the debate, the gaps, the issues.”

Supply copies of  2018 budget for MPs – Speaker to Whips 

Meanwhile, the Speaker has directed the Whips in Parliament to ensure there are sufficient copies of the 2018 budget for members.

This follows concerns from the Minority that members are yet to receive copies days after the budget statement was presented to the house by Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta.

“I respectfully direct that the First Deputy Speaker should ensure between the press assembly and the Ministry of Finance and the administration here in Parliament that by 2:00 o’clock, every member should have a copy. We all know the business of this house. It is also the duty, in all sincerity of the opposition to constructively oppose and also scrutinize.”

“The first 40 copies should be given to the members on my left, and for that matter I charge the whips to ensure that their members have sufficient copies. I will be right in my office to follow this to its logical conclusion. It is very important for our good otherwise there will be no point in scheduling our meeting for Koforidua tomorrow. We shall be using public funds to go there, only not to have our documents ready. Then we are not serving our people.”

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By: Marian Ansah & Duke Mensah Opoku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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