Members of Parliament from the majority staged a walkout in Parliament during the process of adopting the 2024 budget on Wednesday, November 29, 2023.
Following the conclusion of the budget debate, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, called for the policy paper to be adopted or rejected by voice vote.
Minority MPs demanded a head count after the Speaker ruled that the 2024 budget was adopted by a majority voice vote.
The majority of MPs stormed out of the chamber in protest at this decision.
On November 15, 2023, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta delivered the 2024 budget policy proposal to Parliament.
Following that, the MPs debated the document in turn.
Today, both the Minority Leader, Dr. Ato Forson, and the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, delivered their final speeches.
“You were all there you heard the speaker loud and clear, why should a speaker beat such a hasty retreat from what he has said? In this case, he said the Is have it. Then you have the speaker making a sudden U-turn that he didn’t add that the Is have it. He just expressed an opinion. And that’s most unfortunate. So, we think that the proper thing should be done.
We agreed on the headcount, what was he waiting for? For about 30 minutes he was not doing anything. What kind of attitude is this? That is why we left the chamber. Five MPs of minority are not here so all that he’s doing is to play for time to enable them to find a way into the chamber. That is, it, that is all that it is.” Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said.
However, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has stated that the 2024 budget has been passed following the Speaker’s proclamation of the voice vote.
