Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin
Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has called on members to brace themselves for the new meeting of Parliament and take active interest in the 2022 budget presentation, which he said, has to “match the needs of our people”.
Addressing members during the first sitting of the third meeting of Parliament, he christened the meeting the “Budget Meeting”, explaining that the House will perform its critical oversight and accountability function.
“We will be called upon to approve the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government for the year ending 31st December 2022. Recent public financial management trends indicate that modern parliaments are rethinking their role in the budget process, trying to increase understanding and reassert themselves as more active players within it. I urge you all to take a keen interest in this upcoming exercise. As the representatives of the people, we have a collective duty to ensure that the budget for the 2022 fiscal year best matches the needs of our people.”
He also urged members to use the leverage they enjoy judiciously and in the best of ways, in the interest of Ghanaians “on behalf of whom we have been assigned this responsibility.”
The Ranking Member of the Finance Committee, Dr. Ato Forson, encouraged Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to submit their budget estimates on time to give Parliament ample time to scrutinise them.
His sentiments were shared by the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, who said by the first week of November, budget estimates should be submitted to the House “if we want proper tracking and supervision, as well as oversight function. We should agree on a common principle.”
This third meeting of Parliament is expected to last for nine weeks, with a significant part devoted to the consideration of the 2022 budget, expected to be presented on November 17.
A total of 56 bills are expected to be presented before the House. These include Affirmative Action Bill 2021, Interstate Succession Bill 2021, Rent Bill 2021, Aged Persons Bill 2021, and Small Scale Mining Bill 2021.
Three bills are currently at the committee level. They are Office of the Special Prosecutor (Amendment) Bill 2021, Criminal Offences (Amendment) Bill 2021, and Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2021.