Parliament approves Ghana's 2001 Budget

The Ghanaian Parliament on Friday approved the maiden budget of the NPP government and rejected by 101 votes to 81 the amendment proposal of the Minority.

Moving for the approval, the Minister of Finance, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo said the 2001 budget was the best ever presented to take the country out its economic woes.

He said the budget would plug the holes that characterized the budgets of the previous NDC government that have led to perennial deficit financing.

The Minister said the budget would take effect from the day it is approved and that provisions in it will not take any retroactive effect as expressed by the Minority leading them to propose an amendment to it.

He asked that the amendment proposal should be rejected because the fear being expressed by the opposite side of the House was a delusion.

The Minority proposed that the introduction, imposition and charging of the National Reconstruction Levy, which they thought would be implemented with retroactive effect should be deleted because the Constitution objects to the passing of laws with retrospective effect.

The amendment, which stood in the name of NDC members including Mr Alban Bagbin, Mr Doe Adjaho, Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni, Mr Johnson Nketia and Mr Amos Buertey, also objected to Ghana joining the Highly Indebted Poor Countries' (HIPC) initiative.

It also said the description of the Budget as "interim" was illegal because the Constitution did not allow for an interim budget to be presented to Parliament.

Although Alhaji Mummuni and Mr Bagbin put up strong and lucid arguments their amendment was rejected by a headcount when the Speaker, Mr Peter Ala Adjetey put the question into vote.

This was after Mr J. H. Mensah, the Majority Leader and Minister of Government Business had punched holes in the Minority's line of argument.

When the question was put the budget was approved by a voice vote.