Today marks a critical deadline for the Minister of Finance to present the annual budget before Parliament, as outlined in Article 179(1) of the Constitution.
However, with Parliament still on indefinite adjournment due to ongoing controversies surrounding the declaration of four parliamentary seats as vacant, the expected budget presentation hangs in uncertainty.
In a recent ruling, the Supreme Court declared the vacancy declarations unconstitutional but stopped short of instructing the Speaker of Parliament to reinstate the affected Members of Parliament (MPs).
This ruling has left the House in a state of limbo, compounding concerns about adherence to the timeline for presenting the national budget.
Minister is mandated to lay the budget estimates before Parliament by November 15 of each financial year.
Historically, this provision has been respected, with notable compliance from Finance Ministers such as Seth Terkper and Ken Ofori-Atta, who presented the 2017 budget ahead of schedule.
However, recent budgets presented by Ofori-Atta in 2022 and 2023 saw the timeline pushed to November 17 and November 24, respectively.
The current parliamentary impasse raises concerns about the government’s ability to meet its constitutional obligations and maintain financial stability.
With the deadline now upon us, questions abound as to whether the President and Finance Minister will honor the crucial provisions set forth in the PFM Act amid a backdrop of political disarray.
