Free SHS, PFFJ, 1D1F show how prudent gov’t spends state funds, support E-levy – Annoh-Dompreh

Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh is making a case for the need to pass the E-levy by Parliament.

He explained that the e-levy seeks to provide funding to tackle youth employment and build social and digital infrastructure.

It is a proportional tax which also accounts for low income earners, he said and further called on Ghanaians to support government to implement this tax to fund the very things we need as a people.

Referring to the One District One Factory (1D1F), Planting for Food and Jobs (PFFJ), Free Senior High School (SHS) programme and the year of roads projects being implemented, he assured that the government will ensure prudent use of the funds to be generated from the E-levy for more pro-poor initiatives, if passed.

The Nsawam Adoagyiri lawmaker in series of tweets said “The massive nation-wide programs including Free SHS, PFFJs, 1D1F and Year of Roads, point to this government’s ability to account for revenue it generates and receives. We can be confident that this levy will be judiciously used.

“The e-levy seeks to provide funding to tackle youth employment and build social and digital infrastructure. It is a proportional tax which also accounts for low income earners. Let’s support government to implement this tax to fund the very things we need as a people.”

Meanwhile, Deputy Majority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin has revealed that engagements with the Minority on the E-levy has been inconclusive.

Although he said the signs are positive, the engagements would continue into the weekend.

The Lawmaker for Effutu told journalists in Parliament on Friday January 28 that they do not want the fisticuffs that occurred in the House last year to be repeated hence the engagements.

“So far it has been positive. Suffice to say that it has not been conclusive . We believe that through out the weekend we would further gest into this. We don’t want what happened in December to repeat itself and we believe that tis E-levy is an important legislation that will help government get the needed revenue,” he said.

His colleagues in the Minority have however asked them to wait for Speaker Alban Bagbin to return from his trip outside of the jurisdiction before they re-lay the E-Levy in Parliament.

Deputy Minority leader, James Klutse Avedzi said the Minority does not want any of the deputies to preside over the House when the levy is relayed in order to avert the brawls that occurred in the house last year.

“The speaker travels this weekend and will not be available next week , I think our advise to the Majority side is that we should wait until the speaker comes back.

“We want the speaker to preside then we will vote on the matter and once that is done, the end result will be a decision of the House whether the motion would be lost or completely or would be carried, that is something that would be done.

“But we want the speaker to be there we don’t want any of the deputies to sit so that what happened in 2021 should repeat itself.”

The much-anticipated consideration of the Electronic Transfer Levy Bill, popularly known as e-levy, has been postponed to the next sitting of Parliament.

Despite attempts by the Majority Caucus to get the Bill read for the second and third times, the House took a decision to adjourn sitting to Tuesday, February 1.

The Speaker, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, who had been in the precincts of Parliament since morning, had to leave around 5:00pm because there were no signs members were ready to consider passage of the Bill.

Though the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, had announced passage of the Bill on Friday even if it went deep into the night, it appears his opposite number was not in favour of it.

Our Parliamentary Correspondent, Komla Klutse, reported of hot exchanges between Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, who is also the Member of Parliament for Suame Constituency, and the Minority Chief Whip, Alhai Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, who is also MP for Asawase Constituency.

Earlier, the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, who had announced the controversial policy in his budget statement and financial policy on behalf of government on Wednesday, November 17, 2021, had met the Minority to talk members of that caucus into getting the Bill passed.

His proposal to reduce the tax from 1.75 percent to 1.5 percent was rejected, still.

The debate on the Bill is expected to attract equal strength as the Speaker is said to be on his way out of the country again for his periodic medical review in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).