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Members of Parliament may be forced to sit late into the night to deliberate on budget estimates of all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) due to delays by the various Committees to submit their reports for discussion and approval.

The Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Edward Doe Adjaho said the delays in presenting their reports might force the House to sit late into the night and urged his deputies to prepare themselves for the challenge ahead.

Mr. Adjaho urged the committees to speed up the process of scrutinising the budgets and submit their reports to the plenary on time for approval.

The delay in submission of the reports by the various committees on the budget estimates of the MDAs of the government forced Parliament to adjourn sitting yesterday after less than 30 minutes of proceedings.

Most of the reports were not ready to be laid before the House as reports indicated that the various committees were still working on their respective reports.

Prior to the adjournment, the Reports of the Special Budget Committee on the Annual Budget Estimates of the Audit Service, Public Services Commission, and the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) for the year ending December 31, 2016 were laid.

A member of the committee, Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh laid the three reports on the estimates on behalf of the Majority Leader, Alban Bagbin.

The 2014 Annual Report of the Financial Intelligence Centre, Ghana, was also laid in the House by the Deputy Majority Leader, Alfred Agbesi on behalf of the Majority Leader.

The committees have, since last week, been holding series of meetings to consider the budget estimates of the various MDAs of the government.

The chairmen and chairpersons of the committees are expected to submit their reports on the budgets to the House for debate and approval.

This will enable the MDAs to finance their planned programmes and activities for next year and settle outstanding debts and arrears.