Dr Kabiru Mahama, a technical advisor at the Office of the Vice President, has slammed ruling party Members of Parliament and some Ministers of State who flew to Qatar to cheer the Black Stars at the ongoing World Cup.
He described their action as one that lacked discretion and which could not be justified given the load of work that they needed to attend to relative to the debate and passage of the 2022 budget.
He stressed that even President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will be appalled by the acions of some of his appointees.
According to GhanaWeb checks, some of the NPP members who were in Qatar included Communication and Digitalization Minister Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Energy Minister Matthew Opoku Prempeh and MPs for Subin and Okaikwei Central.
Dr. Mahama reacted to the development on December 3, 2022 whiles making submissions on the Big Issue on Citi TV/Citi FM.
“I am sure that this is something the President will be very appalled at because the Members of Parliament are expected to sit through the debate of the budget.
“That exercise of discretion by the cabinet ministers involved in this particular case was exercised without critical reflection on the situation because nothing justifies the fact that you are in this situation, and you go to Qatar to cheer the Black Stars.”
Earlier this week, the Minority Caucus in Parliament raised issues with the absence of Ministers to defend their budget estimates.
Majority Leader Haruna Iddrisu said any minister who failed to appear in-person to defend their estimates risks having their budget rejected.