The Member of Parliament from Falaba, Honourable Lahai Marrah has informed Parliament that the 2021 Appropriation Bill (Budget) is incomplete as the number 134 in the budgetary profile was omitted and therefore called for the document to be rejected. He described the 2020 budget as sincere and commended the Minister of Finance for presenting “a honest budget to the House of Parliament for the very first time”, which he supported by citing paragraph 7 in page 3 of the budget where according to him the Minister accepted he had failed due to COVID-19.
The Honourable Member from Falaba district disclosed that the Minister of Finance disrespected Parliament by spending beyond what was allocated and approved by Parliament to his ministry, which he maintained they should not continue to allow. He cited Section 111 subsection 3 and Section 112 of the 1991 Constitution he said had been abused by the minister’s action of spending what was not approved by Parliament, disclosing the budget before them had three parts including the actual, half actual and the 2021 budget.
Hon Lahai disclosed that during the 2019 budget the Ministry of Political Affairs was given Le2.12 billion but they’d expended Le5.4bn; the Office of the President got Le31.8bn, but end up spending Le78bn, saying these are affronts to the dignity of Parliament, which is a clear contempt.
The MP called on the House to hold the Ministry of Finance responsible by not allowing the budget to pass, and also investigate them for their actions. He disclosed that the Financial Secretary was given Le17 billion and ended up spending Le39 billion.
“If the Ministry of Finance is going ahead spending monies that was not approved by this Parliament that is an abuse of the country’s Constitution,” he maintained, citing Section 111 subsection 3 of the Constitution that gives Parliament the mandate to approve withdrawal of monies from the Consolidated Revenue Fund. With that disclosure, the Leader of Government Business, Hon Mathew Sahr Nyuma, stood on Point of Order referring Hon. Lahai to Section 31 subsection 1 of the Financial Management Act 2016 that gives the Minister of Finance the power to do the expenditures cited above, and also cited Section 36 subsection 1 that also gives the power “to establish a contingency fund the amount which shall not exceed at any time 2 percent of the main budget presented in the same year”.
He urged Hon Lahai to help Parliament with the percentage to ascertain if the minister had exceeded the percentage given in the Financial Management Act.
However Lahai Marrah stated that the budget contained figures for contingency funds, disclosing that in the 2019 budget the Ministry of Finance did not allocate anything for miscellaneous, but however expended huge monies on it. The Chairman of the Finance Committee, Hon Amara Francis Kaisamba, stood on Point of Order stating that Hon Lahai was quoting figures in the 2019 budget but Parliament was discussing the 2021 budget at the moment, which according to him was not fair, as they should focus their debate on the budget before the House.
According to the Leader of the Opposition, they cannot debate without making comparative analysis, explaining that if Parliament deals with facts, “then there is nothing stopping the Honourable from making comparative analysis.” Hon Lahai called on Parliament to take note that in the 2021 budgetary profile the number 134 was omitted, stating they cannot continue with an incomplete budget. AMK/27/11/2020
By Alhaji Manika Kamara