Communications Director for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Yaw Buaben Asamoa, has revealed that the test of the viability on the e-levy policy will be determined at the next election.
Addressing the media at the party’s headquarters today, February 9, 2022, he indicated that the power to determine the success or failure of the e-levy policy rests with Ghanaians. As such, the minority can only debate on the levy and not necessarily have much impact on its implementation or otherwise. Mr Asamoa noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected economies globally and there is the need to look inward in dealing with its impact on the nation.
“Unfortunately, we are in a situation in parliament where the numbers are extremely tight. But we believe that the most an opposition should do, is to insist on putting its voice on record and after that allow the majority to pass its policies… The test of the viability of our policy on the e-levy will come up at the next election. It doesn’t lie with the opposition to insist by brute force to stop the government policy. It doesn’t lie with the minority to do that”.
Yaw Buaben Asamoa
Mr Asamoa emphasized that the NPP has the numbers to pass the e-levy because both deputy speakers aligned to the party have the voting powers to decide on the controversial matter. He underscored that the first deputy speaker, who is from Bekwai constituency, has a vote and the second deputy, who is an independent MP from Fomena also has a vote and he is “allied with the NPP in parliament, giving us a slim majority of one”.
Expressing concern over the global economic meltdown, Mr Buaben revealed that the country cannot depend on the IMF for aid, especially when IMF has made its stance clear that “we need to do better with ourselves because the entire world is in a difficulty and that is where the e-levy conversation is going”.
Relevance of E-levy to the country
Following this, the NPP Communications Director pleaded with civil society, academia, concerned Ghanaians and the media to take their time and “analyse conditions dispassionately” regarding the e-levy. He urged them to look at the situation against the backdrop of the international COVID economy where everything has become scarce.
According to him, global economies have become “capitally scarce, production is down, supply chain disruptions and the concomitant rise in prices of everything, including container shipping”.
“You are aware that container shipping prices have tripled and, in some instances, quadrupled…”
Yaw Buaben Asamoa
Mr Asamoa noted that considering the way the Ghanaian society is socially and community-based, contribution is not “strange to us”. Thus, he expressed that Ghanaians are faced with a “contributory tax” whereby when everybody puts in their quota, it has the capacity to grow into figures that will take the country away from its current situation.
“… That will help us stabilize the COVID economy which was unexpected; that is what we are saying… We are very conscious of the hardship but we need to go further in order to deal with that hardship. The solution doesn’t lie outside the shores of Ghana… This is the time to do this and the NDC will have us rather step backwards”.
Yaw Buaben Asamoa
Mr Asamoa emphasized that with or without the honourable speaker in the chair, the majority should be able to pass the e-levy. This, he explained, was due to the fact that Speakers in the chamber under Article 13 (1) do not have to give reasons when they rise at any point in time from the chair.
“When they rise and step down into the chamber as an MP, they have the right to vote… It is absolutely and entirely lawful. There’s nothing wrong with that. I want to repeat, the minority have every right to put on record in a very forceful way through debates their disagreement with the e-levy measure; but once it gets on the floor of parliament after the debates, the majority has a right to have the legislation passed. The test is the impact on the people which will come when a decision at the ballot box is to be made”.
Yaw Buaben Asamoa
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