E-levy is like a trophy NPP has won – Jantuah

It is as if the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has won a major trophy following the approval of the e-levy by Parliament on Tuesday March 29, Energy Expert and a private legal practitioner, Mr Kwame Jantuah has said.

Mr Jantuah believed that the government struggled in getting the bill passed due to the failure to sensitize the people in order to build their confidence that the funds will be put to good use.

“I feel sorry for communicators of government,” he said on the New Day show on TV3 with Berla Mundi on Friday April 1, adding that “One thing I thought they will do is to start building confidence in the people of Ghana. Right now, it is like a trophy that they have won because they really haven’t built the confidence.”

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Thursday March 31 assented to the Electronic Transaction Levy (e-levy) bill into law on Thursday March 31. The policy was approved by a one-sided Parliament after the minority staged a walkout.

The Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta  revealed on Wednesday March 30 that deductions will start in May this year.

He said that is the assurance he has been given by the Controller and Accountant General (CAGD) and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), who will be the revenue collectors.

“We had some meetings with Controller and Accountant Generals Department (CAGD) and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and they have said right at the beginning of May they should be able to put their system together,” he told TV3’s Roland Walker in Parliament after President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo delivered the State of the Nation Address.

The signing comes at a time the Minority has sued the Attorney General at the Supreme Court over the approval of the bill by the House.

The Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu described the approval as illegal and unconstitutional because in their view, the Majority did not have the right numbers to pass it.

“This is a charade,” he said at a press conference in Parliament, adding that “there is no E-levy.”

“The majority of less than 137 conducting businesses only proceeded on illegal and unconstitutional business. Parliament did not have the numbers to take any decision that should binding Parliament and Ghanaians,” he added.