The South Dayi MP, Rockson Dafeamekpor is calling for an extension of the days allocated for the 2022 budget statement deliberations.

According to the legislator from the Minority Caucus, given the content of the 2022 Budget, Parliament will require more days to thoroughly unpack all the respective paragraphs.

The MP also intimated that the itinerary of Parliament is packed with other activities such as the questioning of some ministers of state, and, therefore, more time will be needed beyond the period allocated for the said deliberations.

Rockson Dafeamekpor wants Parliament to allocate four days for the discussions of the 2022 Budget instead of the earlier three days indicated by the Majority Leader, Osei Mensah Kyei Bonsu.

He made these suggestions on the floor of the House on Friday, November 19.

“Mr. Speaker, I want to plead with the Majority Leader and of course the Business Committee to reconsider concluding the debate by next week Friday. Considering especially that, Thursday for instance, we intend to take debates on education, agric, roads and transport, defense and interior, judiciary, Parliament, and independent government institutions and office of the government machinery.

“But Mr. Speaker, office of the government machinery alone had about 10 institutions. And so I think that in my humble opinion, Thursday will be too loaded. So if they’re considering extending the debate for members to Friday, so that leadership can conclude on Monday 29.

“Then it means the debate would have traveled from Tuesday to Monday the 29th. That’s my humble opinion on the matter,” Dafeamekpor argued.

On Wednesday, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, presented government’s 2022 budget statement and economic policy.

In line with constitutional provisions and the conventions of Parliament, the budget would have to be discussed by a selected committee for the necessary amendments, inputs and relevant modifications to be made.

After this process, the budget will then be put to vote, after which it becomes a working document when approved by the plenary.

In the 2022 budget, the topical highlights that appear to have dominated public discourse are the new E-levy which takes effect in January 2022, and the scrapping of road tolls across the country.