Majority Leader and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Hon Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu has been exposed after it emerged that he was rather the one demanding an additional GHC190 million to be added to the budget earmarked for parliament.
A copy of minutes dated November 30, 2021 on the prepared budget sighted and addressing one Mohammed, the minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu demanded that GHC20 million be added to the budgeted amount.
“Please add GHC20,000,000 to compensation budget. Board (Net recruitments)”, he demanded and signed off.
Hon Kyei Mensah Bonsu on the other hand wrote “By my engagement with the Ministry of Finance I guess it is extremely difficult for them to go beyond the GHc510 million. However, with the new recruitments capex involving the const. offices, they should be able to accommodate GHC190 million extra to bring it to a total of GHC700 million. I shall press for that”, and signed on December 1, 2021.
It emerged that the Speaker of Parliament Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin who was the last and fourth official to comment on the proposed budget on December 6, 2021 addressing the majority and minority leaders wrote “ I affirm the GHC726m recommended by the Minority Leader. Parliament will have to cut down on a number of budget items”
This is however in sharp contrast to claims made by the Suame lawmaker that the Speaker demanded a total of GHC1.7 billion from the budget as a pre-requisite to approving the government’s entire 2022 budget
Speaking at a Press Conference on Thursday Mr Osei Kyei Mensah claimed the Speaker requested that a whopping 1.7billion allocation be made to parliament
“Distinguished colleagues, I told you that some clergymen, the cream of Christendom in the country have met me and I am not going to speak for a long time but the people of this country should know what is leading all of us into this crisis,” Kyei Mensah-Bonsu said.
“GH¢1.72 billion for what? He says that he has information that the total revenue of this country was going to be GH¢89 billion and that the Finance Minister should give him 2 percent of it and that works to GH¢1.72 billion,” he added.
“If he doesn’t give Parliament GH¢1.72 billion, then his budget is going to be thrown out. He was going to make sure the budget is rejected,” Kyei Mensah-Bonsu revealed.
