2022 Budget flip-flop: We can’t judge your case – SC to Richard Sky

The Supreme Court of Ghana has said it cannot make a determination on a case brought before it by journalist Richard Sky by which he sought the highest court of the land to make a determination on the two separate and opposing decisions taken by the minority and majority caucuses of parliament in their respective lone sittings with regard to the rejection and later approval of the 2022 budget statement.

A nine-member panel presided over by Justice Yonny Kulendi said on Wednesday, 16 March 2022 that the apex court had already made a determination on Article 102 and 104 of the 1992 Constitution as far as a quorum for voting on the floor of parliament was concerned and, thus, could not make a judgment on Mr. Sky’s case.

The journalist filed his writ challenging the separate decisions of the Speaker of Parliament, Mr. Alban Bagbin; and First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr. Joseph Osei-Owusu, to allow 137 members of parliament to vote to reject and approve, respectively, the 2022 budget.

On Friday, 26 November 2021, Mr. Bagbin allowed 137 Minority MPs to vote on the budget.

The Minority-alone sitting rejected the budget but the Majority caucus said what the Speaker did was unconstitutional because 137 MPs were less than half the members of parliament and, thus, could not form a quorum to vote on the budget as they purported to have done.

The Minority, however, insisted the Speaker did nothing wrong and said their rejection of the budget was legal and constitutional.

To this end, Mr. Sky is prayed the Supreme Court to declare the action of the Speaker illegal.

Mr. Sky sought the following reliefs:

1. A declaration that upon a true and proper interpretation of Article 104(1) of the Constitution 1992 of the Republic of Ghana, the Speaker of parliament’s decision on 26 November 2021 to invite members of parliament of Ghana to determine the matter of whether or not to accept or reject the 2022 budget statement and economic policy of the government of Ghana, when he knew or ought to have known that at all material times there were less than half of all members of parliament of Ghana present, violated article 104(1) of the constitution 1992 of the Republic of Ghana, especially so when the Speaker had announced immediately before the vote was taken that there were 137 members of parliament of Ghana present in parliament out of the total number of 275 members of parliament of Ghana.

2. A declaration that upon a true and proper interpretation of Article 104(1) of the constitution 1992 of the Republic of Ghana, the purported determination by 137 members of parliament of Ghana out of the total number of 275 members of parliament of Ghana on 26 November 2021, purporting to reject the 2022 budget statement and economic policy of the government of Ghana violated article 104(1) of the constitution 1992 of the Republic of Ghana.

3. An order setting aside the purported vote by 137 members of parliament of Ghana out of the total number of 275 members of parliament of Ghana on 26 November 2022, which vote purported to react the 2022 budget statement and economic policy of the government of Ghana, for violating article 104(1) of the constitution 1992 of the Republic of Ghana.

Following the purported overturning of the Minority’s rejection of the budget and its subsequent passage by a Majority-alone parliament on 30 November 2021, Mr. Sky filed a separate writ at the same court for an “order setting aside the purported vote by parliament on 30 November 2021, which vote purported to approve the 2022 budget and economic policy statement of the government of Ghana for violating the relevant provisions of Article 104(1) and the spirit of the Constitution, 1992, of the Republic of Ghana”.