By Jeorge Wilson KINGSON
Parliament on Friday passed the 2009 appropriation bill under the certificate of urgency. The bill will enable government withdraw a maximum amount of Gh¢9,793,131,406.30 from the consolidated fund and other public funds during the 2009 fiscal year for the purposes of meeting government expenditure.
This is in line with Article 179 of the 1992 Constitution which provides for the house to approve and authorize the withdrawal of monies from the consolidated fund and the withdrawal from other funds for the running of the state during a financial year.
Report of the Appointment Committee which considered the bill and recommended its passage stated that an amount of Gh¢131,788 of HIPC allocation to be utilized during the financial year in question is included in bill.
It also observed that ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) have been permitted to retain and use a total amount of Gh¢386,886,310 being part of their internally generated funds (IGF) during the 2009 financial year.
An amount of Gh¢93,270,000 of Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) is included in the bill for utilization during the year as well.
According to the bill, Gh¢3,012,736,795 out of the total amount projected for payments in 2009 constitutes statutory payments while discretionary payments amounts to Gh¢6,780,394,611.
An amount of Gh¢5,750,000 from the HIPC funds would be granted to members of parliament (MPs) to undertake various developmental projects in their constituencies. BusinessWeek reliably learnt that each of the 228 MPs that constitute the current parliament will receive an amount of Gh¢25,000 of this allocation for the purposes of developing their various constituencies.
Other allocations stated in the bill include Gh¢507,659,141 for domestic debts, Gh¢533,488,799 for outstanding commitments and Gh¢123,282,407 for road fund.
Parliament on Friday passed the 2009 appropriation bill under the certificate of urgency. The bill will enable government withdraw a maximum amount of Gh¢9,793,131,406.30 from the consolidated fund and other public funds during the 2009 fiscal year for the purposes of meeting government expenditure.
This is in line with Article 179 of the 1992 Constitution which provides for the house to approve and authorize the withdrawal of monies from the consolidated fund and the withdrawal from other funds for the running of the state during a financial year.
Report of the Appointment Committee which considered the bill and recommended its passage stated that an amount of Gh¢131,788 of HIPC allocation to be utilized during the financial year in question is included in bill.
It also observed that ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) have been permitted to retain and use a total amount of Gh¢386,886,310 being part of their internally generated funds (IGF) during the 2009 financial year.
An amount of Gh¢93,270,000 of Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) is included in the bill for utilization during the year as well.
According to the bill, Gh¢3,012,736,795 out of the total amount projected for payments in 2009 constitutes statutory payments while discretionary payments amounts to Gh¢6,780,394,611.
An amount of Gh¢5,750,000 from the HIPC funds would be granted to members of parliament (MPs) to undertake various developmental projects in their constituencies. BusinessWeek reliably learnt that each of the 228 MPs that constitute the current parliament will receive an amount of Gh¢25,000 of this allocation for the purposes of developing their various constituencies.
Other allocations stated in the bill include Gh¢507,659,141 for domestic debts, Gh¢533,488,799 for outstanding commitments and Gh¢123,282,407 for road fund.
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