Bernard Mornah To Ghanaians: Be Watchdogs Of 2013 Budget

General Secretary of the People�s National Convention (PNC), has called on Ghanaians to insist that the Mahama led NDC administration achieves everything stated in the 2013 budget statement. According to him, it is important that Ghanaians play the role of watchdogs in ensuring that the government does not take them for granted by simply indulging in mere rhetoric. Bernard Mornah, who made the call on Radio Gold�s Alhaji and Alhaji programme, indicated that successive governments have not been able to achieve at least 40% of budget projections; hence there is the need to ensure that the situation is different. He was commenting on the 2013 budget and economic policy statement presented by the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Seth Terkper in parliament a few days ago. �As a nation, we have not been able to achieve 40% of all the budget statement that has been presented. There are provisions in this budget that when we follow it up, it will help us. We must serve as a watchdog to ensure that government fulfils everything he has stated in the budget that was presented. In this budget statement, I want our Members of Parliament (MP) and all of us to monitor and to insist that government fulfil his side of the deal�� he hinted. He also charged the current administration to makes its promises time bound so that effective checks and balances can be done to ensure that they are on track. �We must put timelines on all the things we want to achieve. When we do this, we will be able to achieve a higher percentage than we have achieved in the previous administrations�� he added. Meanwhile, tempers went high on Tuesday when MPs met to debate on the 2013 budget statement. Even before the spirited opinions on the financial plan began, both the Minority and Majority side of the House engaged in a battle as to whether the budget needed to be seconded or not by referring to Standing Order 81 and 143 (2) of the House, but in the end, the Speaker ruled that the Majority side should second the motion by the Minister of Finance, Mr Seth Terkper, for the approval of the budget. Seconding the motion, the Chairman of the Finance Committee of Parliament and MP for Ketu North, Mr James Klutse Avedzi, said Ghana had been able to achieve microeconomic stability on the basis of strong will and the stable local currency. Whilst the majority hailed the economic policy as one that would sustain the economy to achieve the country�s desired development goals, the Minority described the budget as �a job killing budget� that was stealthily leading Ghana into the Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) status.