Parliament deffers appropriation bill

Accra, March 16, GNA - Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, Deputy Minority Leader on Friday called for the classification of the spending budget of the office of Chief of Staff and Ministry of Presidential Affairs when the motion on the 2006 Supplementary Appropriation Bill was taken through the consideration stage.

He described as vague the amount allocated to the office and called for a clear cut description of what the funds are meant for and asked The Speaker to defer the matter until the Ministry of Presidential Affairs under which the Ghana@50 Secretariat operates, has provides information on its spending pattern.

The Speaker obliged and requested the leadership of the House to work at reaching a solution on the matter.

The call was informed by sentiments that members did not know how the Secretariat was disbursing money allocated to it from the Office of Chief of Staff and Ministry of Presidential Affairs.

Mr Adjaho said, he was opposing the motion arguing that the full requirements of Article 179(2) must be met since the amount approved for the Office of Chief of Staff is not for investment only.

Professor George Gyan-Baffour, Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning who moved the motion had at yesterday's sitting promised that the Auditor-General would provide the full details in next year's Auditor-General's Report and urged his colleagues on the other side to wait till then.

Prof. Gyan-Baffuor at Friday's sitting said it was not the structure of budgets to contain such minute details adding that, the Constitution did not require such a procedure.

Mr Alban Bagbin, Minority Leader, however, pressed for a deferment to enable an agreeable solution on the way forward.

The Internal Revenue (Amendment) Bill was taken through the second reading as well as the Ministries (Retention of Funds) Bill. The House adopted the motion on the repeal of the National Reconstruction Levy. 16 March 07