Nembang told the prime minister that there was no point delaying endorsement of the budget as parliament had already endorsed the vote-on-account bill that mandates the government to spend one-third of the budget. [break]
According to officials at the parliament secretariat, there is no provision for making changes in the annual budget as the policy and programs presented by the president and the vote on account bill have already been endorsed by the House. The House is yet to pass the full budget.
Nembang suggested to the prime minister to hold talks with other political parties on endorsing the budget. He has called the next parliamentary meeting for September 5.
"I suggested to the prime minister to endorse the budget without delay and concentrate his time and energies on accomplishing the twin tasks of peace and constitution," Nembang told Republica.
The speaker´s recommendation comes at a time of confusion about the fate of the budget following the emergence of a new government. Deliberations on the new budget are underway in parliament.
Nembang also suggested to the prime minister to take initiative to appoint the heads and members of constitutional bodies. The statutory bodies including the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), Public Service Commission and Election Commission have remained without their heads and members for years.
According to Nembang, the prime minister responded quite positively. "He said he will talk to leaders from other political parties to forge consensus on settling the issues soon."
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