The Majority Chief Whip in Parliament, Frank Annoh-Dompreh has said the Minority should avoid raising emotions and causing anger in Parliament over the absence of some ministers in Parliament.

The House is continuously recording absenteeism by some ministers after the presentation and partial approval of the 2023 budget.

On the back of this, Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu, has warned that Ministers of State who absent themselves from Parliament, will not have their budgets approved.

The Minority insists the ministers must be present during the debate on the budget.

“I further warn that ministers who want their budgets’ approval must appear in person. If you delegate your deputy we will delegate your money for you some other day after appropriation. If they send emissaries to come for approval of budget estimates, we will send their approval to them the day they are available. So whip, make sure you have your estimates ready,” he said on the floor on Wednesday.

https://www.myjoyonline.com/your-budget-wont-be-approved-if-you-dont-appear-in-person-minority-warns-ministers/

But reacting to this, the Majority Chief Whip said most ministers are absent because of certain ongoing committee sittings they must attend.

“My leader should not raise the temperature of the House unduly. We are working together as a House, I am not too comfortable when you said I must make sure my back is full.

“The fact of the matter is that committee meetings are ongoing concurrently and the leader knows about it. So there should be no problem and we will do the needful,” he said.

Frank Dompreh's reply follows the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu accusing the Majority members of denying the House ample time to consider estimates of the various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies due to their absence.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Parliament suspended the approval of the GH₵80 million allocated for the construction of the National Cathedral.

The allocation, which was made to the Tourism Ministry failed to receive endorsement by the Trades and Industry Committee because the sector Minister could not provide adequate explanation for it.

According to Tamale Central MP, Murtala Mohammed who disclosed this to JoyNews, until the Committee is satisfied, they will approve the Ministry’s estimates without the funds allocated to the National Cathedral.

“What the Committee decided was that we cannot just approve this GH₵80 million, we must know how the other GH₵339 million was spent. What did it constitute?

“The GH₵80 million you want us to approve, how did it find space in the budget line of the Ministry of Tourism when the Minister and the directors could not speak to the questions we were asking? What constitutes the GH₵80 million, they should give us a breakdown,” he disclosed in an interview with JoyNews’ Parliamentary Affairs Correspondent, Kwaku Asante on Tuesday, December 13.