2004 Budget in March

Mr Felix Owusu Adjapong, the Majority Leader and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, on Tuesday announced that the 2004 budget would be presented to Parliament in the first week of March, to allow Parliament ample time to debate and approve it before the electioneering campaigns heated up. He said this is part of plans to ensure effective time management in Parliament in this election year, adding that Parliament would make maximum use of the little time available to it before the election. Mr Adjapong made the announcement at the opening of the Fourth Session of the Third Parliament of the Fourth Republic, which the Speaker, Mr Peter Ala Adjetey said marked the beginning of the end for some members of the House.

Mr Adjapong said for the same reason, President John Agyekum Kufuor had been asked to present his 2004 Sessional Address to Parliament on Thursday, January 22, 2004, adding that the President had accepted to do so. He noted that in the Third Session, absenteeism was a major problem, which hampered the business of the House and called on members to be regular in the House and to participate effectively in its business. This he said would go a long way to impact positively on the effective time management of the House in this challenging period of elections.

Mr Adjapong noted that in the last Session, the House and it committees managed to weather the storm in the face of inadequate infrastructure and delivered in their roles, adding that notwithstanding the election year and the lingering infrastructural problem; "we will manage to deliver this time round." He said efforts were underway to expedite action on the JOB 600 complex to ensure that Parliament got committee rooms, offices and libraries for effective performance. He appealed to Members to treat each other with respect and decorum, adding, "we must be circumspect about the way we take sides on issues on the floor of the House and during committee meeting, to ensure that the ultimate interest of the populace is always paramount in our considerations."