Parliament Resumes Today

Parliament is today, Tuesday commencing sittings for the Third Meeting of the Third Session of the Seventh Parliament of the Fourth Republic.

The House resumes after a period of recess which began on August 2, 2019.

The main highlight of this meeting is expected to be the presentation of the 2020 budget by the Finance Minister, and the approval of estimates for various Ministries, Departments and Agencies. (MDAs)

Legislators had been on recess for over two months after Parliament ended the Second Meeting of its Third Session.

Last sitting

The last day of sitting run deep into the night because a number of Bills were passed in the wake of the mid-year budget review.

Key amongst them were the Communication Service Tax (CST) Amendment Bill, the Earmarked Funds, Capping and re-alignment Bill, the Luxury Vehicle Levy repeal Bill.

Also approved on the last day was a $1.5 billion cocoa syndicated loan and an $11 million loan for the procurement of equipment for the Armed forces.

Other notable Bills assessed and passed since included the Vigilantism and Related Offences Bill.

One major event of the last sitting was the protest against a proposed plan for a new parliament complex.

Some Ghanaians started the #DropThatChamber movement on social media after Parliament announced its intent for the new complex.

MPs from both sides of Parliament also opposed the project.

Civil Society groups also insisted that constructing a new complex for Parliament will be a misuse of resources.

---citinewsroom