Majority leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has revealed that deliberations on the electronic transaction levy Bill, has been rescheduled for next week.
According to him, the finance minister is undertaking further engagement with stakeholders and sections of the general public with respect to some concerns raised on the Bill. Mr Osei-Kyei-Bonsu explained that the committee will, however, programme the Bill for consideration during the Second Week of the Meeting.
Speaking on the floor of parliament today, January 25, 2022, the majority leader encouraged members of parliament to participate fully in the consideration and conclusion on the processes of the passage of the Bill for the benefit of the economy.
“Rt. Hon. Speaker, as Hon. Members would recall, the House was expected to conclude consideration and passing of the Electronic Transaction Levy Bill, 2021 by the end of the Third Meeting of the First Session. Due to unforeseen circumstances, however, the House was unable to consider and pass the Bill at the end of the Meeting. It was, therefore, within the contemplation of the Business Committee that the Bill will be scheduled for consideration by the House during the First Week of the First Meeting of the Second Session. However, upon consultation with the sponsoring Minister, the Committee is not able to programme same this first week of resumption”.
Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu
Majority resolute in maintaining 1.75% on e-levy
Despite the seething opposition from the Minority in its resolve to fight against the passage of the E-levy Bill, the Majority on the other hand are of the opinion that the levy will shore up the revenue to fund developmental initiatives in the country.
Commenting on this, Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, revealed that government is resolute at maintaining the 1.75% rate as the E-levy when the Bill is reintroduced in Parliament for passage into law. He clarified that the absence of the levy on the order paper for Tuesday’s sitting is to pave way for further consultations on the Bill.
“Is the Executive coming midway through the process to withdraw and amend [the 1.75% E-levy]? I’m not sure that’s what we have been informed the Executive seeks to do. I have said over and over again that the Executive’s Bill, as was brought to and approved by Committee, is now before the House for consideration. The intention is to engage and explain why the state needs to raise that money. It’s not the government that wants the money; the state needs those resources to be able to deliver on the very things that we are all asking the state to do”.
Kojo Oppong Nkrumah
Prior to this, Mr Nkrumah in a statement on Monday, January 24, 2022, revealed that the Majority in Parliament will re-engage the Minority on issues the two sides have disagreements on, in order to reach a consensus.
Calling on legislators especially the opposition legislators to be civil and not to resort to fisticuffs in resolving issues, the Ofoase Ayirebi Lawmaker noted that the image of Ghana was badly damaged following the fights in the House during the first session of the 8th Parliament.
Mr Nkrumah conceded that both sides in parliament are “guilty of damaging” the country’s image but have a chance to rectify their mistake.
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