The Parliamentary Service has dismissed claims by Majority Leader Osei Kyei Mensa-Bonsu that the Speaker of Parliament is holding the passing of the E-levy to ransom because he wants more money for Parliament from the executive.
“The day when this budget came to be presented, we had to be at the Speaker’s place for close to an hour. We were not coming out. Why were we not coming out because we had a Speaker who told the Finance Minister that because we had not given Parliament an amount of GHS 1.72 billion that the Speaker had requested the Finance Minister to give to Parliament, he will ensure that the budget will be rejected,” the Suame MP said at a press conference in Accra Thursday.
However, reacting to the comment, the Parliament Service, the body that addresses issues regarding the lawmaking chamber said the leader of the Majority caucus created the wrong impression with his remarks.
“Hon. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu claimed that the Rt. Hon. Speaker threatened to reject the budget if the percent GHS 1.72 billion of the total revenue of the country was not allocated to the work of the Parliamentary Service. He suggested that was why the budget was rejected.”
“This is a complete misrepresentation of what transpired at the meeting. It is not the duty of the Speaker to reject or approve budgets. Approval or rejection is determined only by Members of Parliament.”
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh