An attempt to present the 2017 budget of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly before members hit a snag on Thursday, October 27 as some members objected to the process of laying the budget.
The Assembly members claim it is unlawful for the draft budget to be presented before the House whilst the Assembly has yet to constitute its Finance sub-committee to study the budget.
The KMA is behind time to submit its composite budget to the Ministry of Finance by end of this month for preparation of the national budget.
It recently elected a presiding member after several failed elections.
The failure to constitute a functioning assembly for almost a year has slowed the operations of the Assembly, especially the inability to prepare a composite budget for 2017.
The Assembly risks failing the functional organizational assessment, which in turn will deny the KMA the opportunity to enjoy the Urban Development Grant if the budget is not sent to central government by October 31.
At a special Assembly sitting to present and approve the 2017 budget, some members objected to the budget presentation because sub-committees to scrutinize the document have not been constituted.
The debate in the House could not yield any resolution, prompting the Presiding Member to call off the meeting for the sub-committees to be formed.
The Public Relations Officer of KMA, Godwin Kumah Nyame, is optimistic the Assembly will meet the October 31 deadline.
“We have up to Monday to submit the composite budget to the Finance Ministry else we risk halting more development projects if we miss the Urban Development Grant but we believe that everything will be ready for submission by Monday.”
The meeting has been postponed to Friday, October 28.
By Ibrahim Abubakar|3news.com|Ghana
