New Democrat (Monrovia)
Festus Poquie
1 July 2009
The passing of the budget hung in limbo Tuesday as legislators quarantined themselves behind closed doors, with food and drinks supplied by presidential lobbyists.
Several officials of the President, including Mr. Morris Seytuma, Minister of State for Legal and Economic Affairs, were spotted in the hall of the Legislature as their food and drinks were ferried in for the legislators.
Up to press time, there was no word as to whether the budget would sail through but many legislators left no doubt they would sign-up because the fiscal year ended Tuesday, meaning there would be no money available for government operations, including the legislature.
The budget hearings revealed several discrepancies in the document, with wrong calculations, amongst others. Finance Minister Augustine Ngafuan launched a media campaign to have the budget passing, claiming that politicians were criticizing the document because elections are nearing. He insisted that the budget is not a political document but a technical one.
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