Budget Committee breached Standing Orders in compiling report-deputy speaker

The Budget Committee failed to follow the requisite procedures in preparing its report which was tabled before the Lower House today, Second Deputy Speaker Mahad Salad.

Salad told the House Saturday the Budget and Finance Committee fell short of the House Standing Orders. First, Mahad said the report did not include reference documents and sources which the Committee used in compiling the report.

While chairing a heated session of the House as the report came for debate, Mahad added the Committee seems not to have agreed on one position before finalising the document. Five Committee members Thursday said they had not met as a whole Committee after the document was completed. The Deputy Speaker also said it was unprocedural for the Committee to release the document to the public before tabling it in the House.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Abdirahman Beileh dismissed the report as ‘full of errors and lies’ while defending his ministry’s management of the 2018 national budget. The Committee had indicated the Ministry could not account

for $20 million which it had pledged would be carried forward from the 2017 financial year. The amount, the Committee said was not included in the 2018 budget contrary to Beileh’s word to parliament late last year when the 2018 Appropriations Act was passed.