Give me 1.7billion or your budget will be thrown out – Kyei Mensah tells on Bagbin

The Majority Leader of Parliament, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu has revealed the reasons behind the speaker’s seeming lack of interest in ensuring the approval 2022 budget before Parliament.

Speaking at a Press Conference on Thursday, December 23 monitored by GhanaPlus.com,  Mr Osei Kyei Mensah said the Speaker requested that a whopping 1.7billion allocation be made to parliament out of the country’s total revenue, a request which had not been met and that explains, Mr Bagbin behavior towards the budget.

According to the Majority Leader, the Speaker warned the Finance Minister,Mr Ken Ofori-Atta if the said amount is not made available to the house his budget will be thrown out.

“Distinguished colleagues, I told you that some clergy men, the cream of Christendom in the country have met me and I am not going to speak for a long time but the people of this country should know what is leading all of us into this crisis,” Kyei Mensah-Bonsu said.

“GH¢1.72 billion for what? He says that he has information that the total revenue of this country was going to be GH¢89 billion and that the Finance Minister should give him 2 percent of it and that works to GH¢1.72 billion,” he added.

“If he doesn’t give Parliament GH¢1.72 billion, then his budget is going to be thrown out. He was going to make sure the budget is rejected,” Kyei Mensah-Bonsu revealed.

Kyei Mensah-Bonsu’s Majority fights with Minority over 2022 budget

Ghana’s Parliament has experience a number of scuffle since the Finance Minister presented to the house the 2022 fiscal and economic statement of the government.

The development arose from among other things introduction of a proposed electronic transaction levy presented as part of the 2022 budget statement for consideration.

E-levy is seeking to impose a 1.75% tax on all mobile money transactions above ₵100, applicable to senders only, a proposal which the Minority have vehemently opposed.

There have subsequently been a number of brawls over the budget statement among the Minority and the Majority leading to several chaotic incident in Parliament, some of which led to the snatching of the Speaker’s chair in his absence, walk out by both sides of the house and rejection and approval of the budget in the absence of Majority and Minority respectively.

The latest of the scuffle was recorded on Monday, December 20, night and again in the absence of the Speaker,Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin.

Source: GhanaPlus.com