Notwithstanding the Minority’s assertion that the 2024 budget and economic statement have not been enacted, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, and the Majority in Parliament maintain that the budget has been approved after the Speaker, Alban Bagbin, declared the voice vote.
On Wednesday, November 29, 2023, the Majority caucus staged a walkout in Parliament during the process of approving the 2024 budget.
The Speaker of Parliament asked the room to vote on whether to adopt or reject the policy paper by voice vote following the conclusion of the budget debate.
The Speaker’s decision was contested by the minority of MPs, who maintained that a majority voice vote had approved the 2024 budget and demanded a headcount.
The majority of MPs were not happy with this decision, and they left the chamber.
The Speaker of Parliament had already decided in favor of the Majority MPs, thus there was no need for a headcount, they insisted.
Addressing journalists after the walkout by the Majority, the Finance Minister said, “At the end of the day, the Speaker put it to vote twice, and he declared that the ‘ayes’ have it. That means the budget, in my view, has been passed. Later, there was a challenge, which has not been resolved. So far as I know and believe, we have the 2024 budget passed until such time that they resolve whatever they want to resolve.”
The Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, who expressed fury about the Speaker’s actions, pointed out, “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 ‘ayes’ have it. Then you have the Speaker making a sudden U-turn that he didn’t add that the ‘ayes’ have it. He just expressed an opinion. And that’s most unfortunate. So, we think that the proper thing should be done.”
“We agreed to the headcount; what was he waiting for? For good about 30 minutes, he was not doing anything. What kind of attitude is this? That is why we left the chamber. Five MPs of the Minority were not here, so all that he was doing was to buy more time to enable them to find a way into the chamber.”
