Parliament has approved the budget statement for the 2009 fiscal year. The approval of the budget christened ‘Investing in a Better Ghana’ comes after days of debate in the house. Finance Minister Dr. Kwabena Duffuor on March 5, 2009 presented the document to Parliament in which he announced a series of austerity measures which government says will kick-start a new development paradigm. Although the minority have described the document as a "sakawa budget", the majority have hailed it as being pro-poor and good news for Ghanaians. The budget contain series of measures aimed at cutting back government expenditure and increasing revenue. Parliament seems to have reached a consensus after two weeks of intense debate on the floor.