The National Government has been called on to ensure the National Parliament is given its share of funding in the upcoming national budget.

National Parliament Speaker Job Pomat sounded the call on Thursday in Parliament in light of a request for a parliamentary committee to immediately commence investigations into the procurement of a controversial medical drug that has resulted in several fatalities last month.

Mr Pomat said in his last four years as Speaker, successive governments continue to overlook the Parliament’s budget that he presents in the annual budgets.

“Over the years, the Parliament’s budget that I present to the executive government annually according to law were never met,” Mr Pomat said.

“All the Parliamentary Committees are not functioning because of this reason.”

“I’m asking that the upcoming budget must be inclusive of Parliament’s share as it is an arm of the government, in fact the first arm of government,” Mr Pomat stated.