Aden Duale Rules Out That The 2022/2023 Is Unconstitutional

The immediate former Majority Leader of the National Assembly claimed in a statement to newsrooms that Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani participated in appropriating funds for expenditure by the national government and other State organs, despite the fact that the National Assembly has sole constitutional authority to do so.

“I wish to state from the onset that budget-making is a sequential process and not an event. The illegal event scheduled for Thursday, April 7, 2022 is not only misplaced in the order of sequence but also unconstitutional,” Duale’s statement stated.

Duale went on to claim that the Executive has reportedly tried to usurp the function of the National Assembly in the budget-making process on several occasions.

According to Duale, the Executive is allegedly using the annual reading of the budget statement, which is traditionally done by the Head of the Treasury, to weaken Parliament's budget-making responsibilities.

“Why would the House allow the reading of the budget statement before processing the budget estimates by the House? Are we turning the vigorous process by our Departmental Committee and the BAC into a ritual whose output does not inform policy pronouncements by the government?” added Duale.

Similarly, the member emphasized how Treasury CS Yatani designed a budget timetable that accommodated the general elections set for August 9 in advance of the budget.

“By allowing the Cabinet Secretary to read this statement using a mere guideline (budget calendar), the House will be allowing the violation of the Constitution under the guise of accommodating general elections. The National assembly cannot adjust timelines and allow the Cabinet Secretary to breach the constitution,” Duale stated.