There’s no money to work – Minority protests budget delays in Parliament

The Minority in Parliament has expressed strong concerns over what it describes as undue delays by the Ministry of Finance in releasing funds allocated for the effective functioning of Parliament.

According to the caucus, the continued withholding of these funds is crippling the work of parliamentary committees, with many now unable to fulfil their mandates due to a lack of financial resources.

Raising the issue on the floor of the House on Friday, June 7, Chairman of the Assurances Committee and Member of Parliament for Bimbilla, Dominic Nitiwul, called on the Finance Minister to expedite the release of the necessary funds to support parliamentary work.

“Parliament is now literally begging for money to enable its committees to function. As a committee chair, I could not access funds to carry out our duties. We had a scheduled workshop, but not even a cedi was released. Members across committees are fully aware that there is no money. Why aren’t we demanding that the Finance Minister release the funds?” he questioned.

However, the claim was dismissed by the Majority Chief Whip, Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor, who insisted that Parliament is not facing any financial crisis.

“They are alleging that Parliament is struggling to do what? As Members of Parliament, our salaries and allowances have been paid. The Finance Minister has released funds, and no one has officially raised concerns about not being paid,” he countered.