Senior lecturer at the University of Cape Coast School of Business, Dr Seyram Kawor, has expressed the need for members of parliament to prioritize the needs of Ghanaians when it comes to budget approvals.

According to him, over the period, budget approvals have been skewed based on political affiliations.

He lamented that predominantly, approvals are usually subjected to “entrenched positions” that have been taken by both sides of the House. This, he noted, sends a wrong signal to the market.

“The process of the approval of the budget has not been very smooth, and this is something that has been happening over the years. We pray that parliament will come to the reality and put Ghanaians first when it comes to the budget approval… I should be expecting that there should be some places where the House will agree on certain issues and disagree on some of them when it comes in.”
Dr Seyram Kawor

Elaborating on the impact of some taxes which have been approved as part of the budget, Dr Kawor explained that legislators “who are passing it today, are not going to be in parliament forever”.

In light of this, he urged them to be mindful of the budget and laws they are approving to take effect.

“We need to look at the ordinary Ghanaian on the street and businesses that are operating. If we inundate them with a lot of taxes in the system, how will they be able to sustain, grow their businesses and pay the taxes so that the cost of production will be lower and prices will be lower on the market. Those are the things that we need to address.”
Dr Seyram Kawor

Decorum in approval of budgets

Commenting on the approval of the budget which he indicated has paved way for parliament to now go into the appropriation of the ministries, agencies and departments, Dr Kawor stated that that is where legislators will undertake some adjustments before it finally comes out.

With this, he noted that it would have been appropriate for such procedures to be undertaken before the final approval is done.

“So, going forward, these processes by which we approve the appointment of ministers, and whatever that is being done in parliament, we try as much as possible to remove the politics from it… Some taxes that have been introduced right now especially the emission tax that everyone that owns a motorcycle, car and tricycle you pay GHC100 every year – it’s a way of raising some amount of money but is it necessary?”
Dr Seyram Kawor

Going forward, Dr Kawor called on parliamentarians to be decorous when it comes to the budget approval. He highlighted that taking entrenched position on issues and policies will not augur well for the country.

“Why is it that the restrictions that the minister of trade was trying to push in parliament did not appear in the budget if we are really planning?”
Dr Seyram Kawor

Meanwhile, first deputy minority whip, Ahmed Ibrahim, has revealed that although the minority’s opposition to the approval of the 2024 budget failed, it has succeeded in proving to the public that the Caucus’ resolve was to protect the interests of ordinary Ghanaians.

He revealed that his side will continue to oppose policies that would negatively impact businesses and burden Ghanaians.

“When the budget starts working, people will be asking about the impact of the taxes, but when that time comes, we will tell you [the public] that this is why we voted against ABCD. There were two things we were standing against; the first one was the restriction of import licensing, and the government saw wisdom in it and has withdrawn that. The second one is the budget and economic policy, and we put that to a vote. It was 138 for and 136 against. So, it tells you that we were able to stand our ground and marshal our numbers…”
Ahmed Ibrahim