Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo-Marfo says it is illegal fundamentally for the government to overspend its budget approved by Parliament.
Speaking to Citi FM after yesterday's 2020 budget presentation by the Finance Minister, Yaw Osafo-Marfo said all ministers need to be disciplined in their spending and that will be the way to help the country develop.
"I insisted that we have all approved an Appropriation Act for ourselves, we have approved a budget and it will limit ministers to spend in accordance with the approved budget, and I had the support of the President so no minister could use the President to bully me to spend outside the budget, because we've done only one term for instance in our case and we want a second term, most MPs will need additional resources in terms of project unplanned projects, unbudgeted projects, he certainly finds out that if he did not do a primary school in a particular town he will not win the election in that town so there is pressure coming from all angles and your colleagues are going to tell you do you want me to lose this election? so with that kind of thing you had to say this was not budgeted for and it is a discipline we should try to do.....just yesterday we read the budget by end of December we would have passed an Appropriation Act it means that Parliament would have allocated a certain amount of money to each ministry to spend for the 2020 year, why will you allow everybody to overspend, it is illegal fundamentally...."
The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta also in Parliament, yesterday, said the Government of Ghana will not overspend in 2020 despite the fact that it is an election year.
Ken Ofori Atta said Government will rather resource the Electoral Commission to run a free and fair election in 2020 and use digitization to improve government services.
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The Finance Minister said this while delivering the 2020 Budget Statement and Economic Policy in Parliament on Wednesday, November 13, 2019.
"Mr. Speaker, 2020 is an election year. I would like to take this opportunity to inform this august House on behalf of the President that all the needed resources required shall be marshaled for the Electoral Commission to ensure that we have credible, free and fair elections. Ghana remains one of the most stable and peaceful countries in the world and we intend to maintain it that way.
"In spite of the year being an election year, Mr. Speaker, let me repeat that President Akufo-Addo and his Government will ensure that the perennial excessive spending during such periods, will not happen in 2020.
"We shall work within 2020 appropriated resource envelop and adhere to the Fiscal Responsibility Act to maintain fiscal discipline. We will do so, not because we are complacent with our chances. No. We will do so because the nation needs it and we are not prepared to throw away all the sacrifices and gains the people and their Government have made in the last three years. We shall consolidate our macroeconomic gains and offer businesses and households the predictability and stability that they need to manage their lives."