National Assembly: MPs hurriedly clap through 2024 Finance Bill.

The 2024 State budget, which stands at 6,740.1 billion FCFA, was ‘examined’ only within days and eventually adopted at the National Assembly. 

The bill was adopted almost without any objection, at Wednesday’s plenary sitting. The plenary sitting was chaired by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Rt Hon Cavaye Yeguie Djibril. 

The 2024 State budget, which has witnessed an increase of 13.2 billion FCFA (0.2%), from that of 2023, which stood at 6,726.9 billion, was defended by the Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motaze. 

Members of the Finance and Budget Committee, led by Hon Moutymbo Rosette Epse Ayayi, virtually rushed through the draft budget, which they started ‘scrutinising’ Friday December 1, after it was tabled on November 30. 

Violation of laid down laws 

The lawmakers had barely eight days to ‘go through’ the voluminous document. This, as has been the case in the previous years, was in blatant violation of Law No. 2007/006 of December 26, 2007, on the Finance Regime of the State.

As per the aforementioned law, MPs are supposed to be in possession of the draft State budget of the forthcoming year, 15 days before the opening of the budgetary session. 

Going by what the law stipulates, government had to table the draft 2024 Finance Bill, including its obligatory attachments, before the Bureau of Parliament, not later than October 26, 2023. 

This is so as the November Ordinary Session, traditionally devoted to the ‘scrutiny’ and adoption of the budget, opened November 10.

However, the government bench, after failing to table the bill 15 days before the start of the session, provocatively tabled it ten days to the end of the session, after it was rejected by some vocal opposition lawmakers. 

It left members of the Finance and Budget Committee to rush through the bill, in just less than a week. 

Prior to the adoption, was a presentation of general report of the Finance and Budget Committee by the Rapporteur, Hon Ndango Eteme Edgard.

This was followed by a series of preoccupations which some MPs put forward to seven members of government. All 90 articles of the Finance Bill, it should be said, were adopted in its entirety by the overwhelming CPDM lawmakers. 

MINFI boss, Louis Paul Motaze, speaking to reporters after defending bill 

Zoom on adopted budget 

The adopted Finance Bill projects a growth rate of 4.5% and inflation of 4% as against 6.7% in 2023.

The Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motaze, said it was drawn up within the context of disturbing internal and external economic shocks, including fluctuation in oil prices on the international market caused by global crises between Russia and Ukraine. 

Minister Motaze told MPs that streamlining the discretionary recurrent expenditure and commissioning first generation projects are key to attaining set objectives for the 2024 fiscal year. 

Motaze said the bill aims to revitalise the economy and to infuse inclusive growth. 

Speaking to reporters after the adoption of the bill, Minister Motaze expressed a feeling of satisfaction.

“We have done a good job. We have discussed with the MPs and they made some amendments and some of these amendments were accepted. This is a good sign that all of us are working for the wellbeing of the population,” he explained.

Clapping through bills not new at National Assembly 

The Speaker of the National Assembly, Rt Hon Cavaye Yeguie Djibril, it should be recalled, had back then, bashed MPs for clapping through the 2022 Finance Bill. 

Lambasting his colleagues then, Hon Cavaye had said: “All the bills were adopted without any amendment. This is written here…now you are standing up to show off to your electors that you are working”. 

He stated that: “Yes, that’s the reality. Know that to me, you have not worked because your Rapporteur said all the Finance Bills were adopted without a single amendment. I will not give the floor to anyone to speak”. 

Despite persuasion from his deputies and the Secretary General of the National Assembly, he declared then that: “I have said there will be no general debate”.