ADVERTISEMENT

E-levy has not been approved – NDC MP tells Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Bia East Constituency in the Western-North Region, Richard Acheampong, has urged the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu to implement the 1.75% levy on all electronic transactions if indeed the House has approved it.

Parliament of Ghana

He said: "Nothing has been approved in relation to the E-levy" adding that Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu is a confused person who must not be taken seriously.

Speaking on Accra FM. the NDC lawmaker said "if you are a politician, you must be consistent in all your actions at all times."

"If the Majority Leader is asserting that E-levy has been passed, they should go ahead and implement the policy," he added.

ADVERTISEMENT

Earlier, the Majority leader said Parliament in a unanimous decision, has already approved the 1.75% levy on all electronic transactions.

He said the House did not only approve the E-levy but the motion to approve the budget adopted in Parliament, which included the Appropriation Bill was passed.

"It is a difficulty for me when people are kicking against the e-levy when you know that in the adoption of the motion to approve the budget, we approved of that. So, it means that the first step has already been surmounted.

"The e-levy has been factored into the various estimates that we have approved for all the sectors. That is the second thing we did. The third step is when we encapsulated everything into the Appropriation Bill and passed the bill unanimously. What does it mean, you have approved of the E-levy," the Suame MP said when he addressed a capacity building workshop organised for the Majority Caucus in Parliament and some Ministers of State, on January 22, 2022.

But the MP explained that "What happened at the committee level of Parliament was not approval per the standing orders of the house because technically the E-levy was rejected at the committee level.

ADVERTISEMENT

"At the committee level, the E-levy was approved by a majority vote and not by unanimous decision.

"What transpired at the committee level, was that members took the decision to vote and there was a tie. The Chairman of the Committee had a casting vote so he voted for the numbers to be 13 for the Majority and 12 for the Minority."

JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!

Unblock notifications in browser settings.
ADVERTISEMENT

Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:

Email: eyewitness@pulse.com.gh

ADVERTISEMENT