Economist and University of Cape Coast (UCC) lecturer, Professor John Gatsi, has attributed the delay in the presentation of the 2025 Mini-Budget to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, asserting that the responsibility for the budget ultimately lies with the president under constitutional and legal provisions.
This followed Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin’s decision to adjourn parliamentary proceedings to January 2, 2025, after Finance Minister Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam failed to deliver the anticipated 2025 Mini-Budget.
Despite widespread expectations, the presentation did not materialize, leading Speaker Bagbin to adjourn the session.
Addressing the media after the adjournment, Minority Leader Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson expressed dissatisfaction with the Finance Minister’s failure to fulfil this critical responsibility.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, Prof. Gatsi explained that under the Constitution and the Public Financial Management Act, the duty to present the budget fundamentally rests with the president, even though it is typically delivered by the Finance Minister.
“Per Article 180 and the Public Financial Management Act 921, the obligation from the constitutional point of view, every budget is a budget of the president and presented on his behalf by the finance minister or anybody he chooses to present for his. So, this reluctance or refusal to present the budget is the president who is refusing to present the budget,” he stated.
“When you go to the public financial management act under appropriation, it puts this obligation on the finance minister. So, if you want to read the Constitution and the public financial management act together, I believe that the blame will go to the president of the public and not the finance minister. So, it is the president that has decided to deny Ghanaians what the constitution provides for them to enjoy,” he stated.
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