Supplementary budget estimates should be presented only in exceptional cases- Prof Baffour

Dr Kwabena Duffuor, Minister of Finance on Thursday presented a supplementary budget estimates to Parliament without heckling from the Minority but one of its prominent members viewed the whole ceremony as unnecessary.

Professor George Gyan- Baffour, Former Deputy Minister of Finance in the Kufuor administration, said he did not subscribe to the idea of a supplementary budget because it was only in exceptional cases that a supplementary budget should be read for approval “so the Minister should not have come here.” It should not be a norm.

He said all that government projected to pursue in the year should be in the main budget and not to keep certain programmes waiting for a supplementary budget.

The Ghana News Agency had sampled the views of some members from the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party on the supplementary estimates presented to Parliament by the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning on Thursday.

Prof Baffour, who is also the Member of Parliament for Wenchi, said the economy was moving by itself since it was the ordinary Ghanaians who are managing the economy especially, the private sector and not government.

According to him, money “was going to the wrong direction” and called for proper understanding of the economy because the government was not doing any proper prioritisation for the money to be used properly.

Mr Alfred Abayateye, Vice Chairman, Finance Committee, said the presentation of the supplementary budget was 100 per cent in the right direction because the constitution made it possible for a President to seek to spent more when there was the need to do so.

He said the President cannot spend state funds on his own authority adding, the Committee would work on the supplementary budget and when approved for the President to sign.

Mr Abayateye questioned why in the Kuffuor administration presentation of a supplementary budget was not a problem but should be an exceptional case in the case of the National Democratic Congress’ government.

He said government had realised that it was Ghana that was indebted to other countries through loan agreements and had found it prudent to pay and for that instead of embarking on new projects government was completing all old projects left behind by the previous administration.

Source: GNA