The Minority in Parliament has described the 2017 budget statement of the government as ‘419’.
Amidst heckling, jeering and lifting of placards, the NDC side of the house chanted ‘419!’
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MPs showing their '419' sheets
The heckling surmounted after the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, announced the decision of the new government to abolish import duties on spare parts.
‘To all our friends at Abossey Okai, we would abolish import duty on spare parts’, he said. For emphasis, Mr Ofori-Atta, repeated the plan by the government.
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The list of taxes and what government intends to do with them (Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning)
READ ALSO: Pulse Live: We will abolish duty on importation of spare parts – Ken Ofori Atta
419 is vernacular used across English-speaking West Africa to refer to something deemed a sham.
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Abossey Okai is the hub for vehicle spare parts in the city of Accra
Abossey Okai is the hub for vehicle spare parts in the city of Accra and during the 2016 December elections, a group of traders from Abossey Okai donated 200,000 cedis to candidate Nana Akufo-Addo's campaign (who went on to win the elections after two unsuccessful bids).
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Copy-copy budget?
Ken Ofori-Atta also announced the abolishment of taxes on domestic airline tickets, value added tax on financial services and levies on kayayes (head porters).
