Director General of the Internal Audit Agency, Dr. Eric Oduro Osae has called for consensus building in Parliament following the rejection of the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy.
He stated that Parliament under the Constitution of Ghana has been mandated to provide and approve a budget statement as well as an Appropriation Act for the government's expenditure.
"The institution of Parliament has a responsibility, under the Constitution, Article 179 says as that arm of government, it is their responsibility to give us budget. It is not only a budget but to also approve the economic policy of government and go ahead to pass an Appropriation Act which then empowers government to spend," he said.
Dr. Oduro Osae indicated that the delay in the approval of the 2022 budget will bring economic hardships and instability in the country.
"If we enter 2022 without a budget, that is going to create economic problem in this country, financial and economic activities will decline to a halt, parliament will not get their salary, fuel will not be procured, nothing will happen in this country", he said on GTV.
He also noted that "parliament has no option than to work day and night" to approve the budget due to time lost.
"The approval of the budget is one thing, after that the Appropriation Act is a law and you will have to gazette it for two weeks. Before that, the government is also introducing new taxes and these taxes will have to come with bills and it can't take two weeks or one day for them to pass a bill, so we are behind time," he added.
The governance expert also called for a consensus building in parliament towards the approval of the 2022 budget.
"The two political parties should allow peace to prevail. They should build consensus and know that they have a joint responsibility to discharge the mandate imposed on them under Article 179, of looking at what is good for Ghana," he stressed.