Don’t fail Ghanaians; scrutinise budget thoroughly – Majority Leader tells MPs

Majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu has urged Members of Parliament(MPs) to do a good job at scrutinising the Budget before the House approves it in the interest of Ghanaians.

The Finance minister, Ken Ofori Atta is hopeful that the 2017 budget presented to parliament on Thursday will help government fulfil its promise of putting the economy back on track.

Taking his turn to address legislators at a post-Budget workshop for MPs at Ada in the Greater Accra region, the Majority expressed the optimism that the forum will equip legislators to do a comprehensive job.

“While may not all agree on matters contained in the Budget, there is no doubt at all that the budget has broken new grounds, never before seen. Profoundly innovative programmes and policies have been introduced in the budget. The devil, however, as they say, is in the details. This post-Budget workshop has become part of our annual parliamentary calendar, therefore seeks to equip Honourable Members and staff of parliament with the necessary skills, competent and insight into the budget so as to enable the House and its committees to thoroughly interrogate the budget and its underlying policies and also to position Honourable members to conduct oversight functions in the various sectors of the economy,” he said.

The budget presented last Thursday included a plan to roll out seven new social intervention and economic planning programmes.

Most of the programmes are anchored on the 2016 campaign promises like the flagship Senior High School which is expected to take off the burden of parents paying fees in the second-cycle education.

The NPP government also announced that it plans to build 275 factories and construct 261 dams to boost agriculture and create jobs.

At least 12 taxes and levies are also set to be abolished and reviewed by government.