Prez. Mahama slashes Parliament’s budget by 30%

President John Mahama’s decision to cut budgetary allocation to Parliament by 30 percent has incurred the wrath of members of the legislature.

The MPs allege the President’s decision is a deliberate attempt to render the house ineffective by starving them of the needed funds.

Parliament a while ago approved an amount of 185 million cedis for the services of the house for 2015, which is 30 percent short of what the service presented to the president for approval.

Joy News’ Parliamentary correspondent Elton John Brobbey said Parliament requested an amount of  267.2 million cedis but the President recommended an allocation of 185.5million cedis representing a slash of over 30 per cent.

Member of the special budget committee of Parliament Professor Gyan Baffour who presented the report of the committee noted the reduction will affect all activities of parliament for 2015.

“The reduction will impact on all activities of Parliament for the 2015 budget year if nothing is not done about it,” he said.

He named the Job 600 project, recruitment of support staff and research assistants will be worst affected.

MPs have been furious by the slash. Member of Parliament for Manhyia South Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh, and MP for Adansi Asokwa, KT Hammond led a campaign for the House to reject the proposal but the House reluctantly passed it.

“We should not pay lip service to the fact that we are the masters of our own procedures,” Hammond warned.

The Speaker and the Majority Leader Alban Bagbin said they will hold further discussion with the president to review the amount in the supplementary budget that will come next year.

– Nathan Gadugah