National Federation Party Leader, Professor Biman Prasad says the FijiFirst government has yet again subverted parliamentary democracy by scuttling any scrutiny of its revised 2021-22 budget while Minister for Economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says the budget will get debated on Friday, 25th March for it to be approved because it is a mini budget.
The revised budget will be delivered at 7.30pm on Thursday.
Prasad says the fact the budget is to be debated and passed in less than 24 hours after it is announced means the Opposition will have no time to intensely scrutinise the large budget documents.
Prasad says it will be debated and passed from 9.30am on Friday with debate being likely restricted in terms of normal speaking time.
The NFP Leader says this is an ambush of parliamentary process due to adoption of a unaccountable and non-transparent procedure.
He says the budget will escape scrutiny because there will be no Committee of Supply and this is when parliament resolves to go into a Committee to scrutinise each of the 50 Heads of the Budget.
Prasad says it is clear the government wants to clearly avoid any legitimate process and prevent the exposure of pitfalls in its finances that will be camouflaged by freebies and handouts.
Minister for Economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum had stated in his budget consultations that the revised budget will be delivered at 7.30pm on Thursday God willing and it will get debated the next day for it to be approved because it is a mini budget.
