Committee of supply: another Parliament talk show :: Mmegi Online

Following the presentation of the budget or Appropriation Bill by the Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Members of Parliament (MPs) contribute to the debate by discussing general concepts, issues and principles arising from the minister’s presentation.

For instance MPs can talk about issues of general economic indicators, issues of unemployment, poverty, inequalities and access to economic and business opportunities without delving into specific issues of the budget or individual ministries budget. It is common knowledge that the 2015 February budget was debated by no more than six MPs. I do not wish to belabour the reader with what exactly happened and resulted in over 50 MPs not debating the budget.

After the conclusion of the debates on the budget, the minister responded to the contributions of the few MPs who debated the budget. Subsequently, a Committee of Supply began and ended this week with the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism. Exactly what is this Committee of Supply? What is its legal basis and what is its significance?

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