2023 budget: Let’s work together in the interest of Ghana – Oppong Nkrumah tells MPs

The Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has urged members of the 8th Parliament of Ghana to put aside their differences and help ensure the 2023 Budget and Economic Statement of the country is passed.

In a tweet shared on Monday, November 22, he said that Members of Parliament (MPs) from the majority and minority caucuses must come together to agree on a budget because of its importance to Ghana’s recovery from the current economic crisis.

“The 2023 budget is supposed to be the foundation of our recovery. Majority and Minority will have to work together in the national interest to arrive at a feasible budget program,” parts of the tweet by the information minister, who is also the MP for Ofoase/Ayirebi, read.

Oppong Nkrumah’s tweet also came with a JoyNews video of the Director of Research at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), explaining the various component of the national budget and what they are meant for.

The government has indicated that it will present the 2023 budget in Parliament on Thursday, November 24, 2024. However, the person who presents the budget has become an issue.

This is because 98 MPs of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) have indicated that they will boycott the reading of the budget if Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta is the one to present it.

The spokesperson of the anti-Ofori-Atta NPP MPs', Andy Appiah-Kubi, stated that the group is returning to their original demand for the finance minister's removal.

According to the Member of Parliament for Asante Akyem North, their renewed demand, with the support of 18 other members of their caucus, is because the minister's position is now untenable.

Also, an ad hoc committee of Parliament set up to investigate a vote of censure motion against Ofori-Atta by National Democratic Congress MPs is expected to present its report to the house on Tuesday, November 22.

View the MPs tweet below:

The 2023 budget is supposed to be the foundation of our recovery. Majority and Minority will have to work together in the national interest to arrive at a feasible budget program. pic.twitter.com/vmUAgus0Pk

— Kojo Oppong Nkrumah (@konkrumah) November 22, 2022