Following the approval of two additional loans, Parliament adjourns

After enacting the Appropriation Act 2022 to authorize government spending for 2023, Ghana’s Parliament adjourned sine die.

The economy of Ghana, which is seeking assistance from the Foreign Monetary Fund (IMF) and is presently negotiating turbulent debt exchange programs with domestic and international creditors, did not achieve this goal before adding two more loans to its already burdensome debt load.

The “Government Goes Solar Project” will receive 30 million euros, and “the 330kv Accra-Kumasi Transmission Line Project” will receive 116 million euros, according to the House.

The Minority group told the House that despite their general opposition to new loans for Ghana and the precarious state of the country’s debt situation, which they claimed had reached an unsustainable level, they felt it necessary to support the new loans because the terms of the facilities appeared to be favorable.

A number of new laws were passed during the House’s Wednesday morning session, including one that reduced the E-levy rate from 1.5 percent to 1 percent and raised the VAT rate by 2.5 percent in accordance with the government’s new tax policy.

Meanwhile, the minority in parliament’s vehement and unrelenting opposition to the National Cathedral Project caused the government to withdraw its proposed contribution of 80 million Ghana cedis to the contentious project.

In an effort to protect the Ministry of Tourism’s budget, which would have been held hostage had the administration refused to give in to the demands of the Minority, the government was compelled to give up its search for the money.

Minority lawmakers forced the government to reduce the proposed 80 million cedi allocation to the project, arguing it is terrible to use Ghana’s tax funds at a crucial time when the country’s economy is still on life support and desperately needs resources to avoid total collapse. This was despite spirited performances by Majority MPs in support of the building of the National Cathedral.

The Majority had pushed through a number of new government initiatives before the House adjourned for the Christmas and New Year vacations, including efforts to have Parliament vote on two pending Supreme Court nominees. Minority MPs, on the other hand, voiced a flurry of concerns and accused the government of trying to overwork MPs at the expense of both their individual and group health. In the end, the Majority was forced to defend all successful companies against tenacious Minority opposition.

Later, the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, had announced the likely date for MPs to reassemble for parliamentary activity as 24 January 2023 in a concluding statement delivered on his behalf. However, Speaker Alban Sumana Bagbin swiftly overturned the aforementioned date, telling the Majority Leader he lacked the power to determine the House’s return dates.