Majority Committed illegality in passage of E-levy- Minority
The Minority in Parliament has urged Ghanaians not to be deceived by the Majority decision to pass the Electronic Transaction Levy Bill despite the fundamental breach of the recent Supreme Court ruling on matters of decision making in parliament.
According to the Minority, the approval by a one-sided House on Tuesday March 29, with just 136 members was illegal.
The Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu at a press conference after the Majority approval , described the approval as a charade 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 be binding on Parliament and Ghanaians.”
The E-levy was passed by Parliament on Tuesday March 29 after the third reading in the House. The Minority staged a walkout during the second reading on the E-levy. They walked out after Mr Iddrisu said the NDC MPs remain united in opposing the policy.
Contributing to the E-levy debate on the floor of the House on Tuesday March 29, he described the policy proposal as punitive which will further increase the “the high cost of doing business in the country.”
“E-levy is the nuisance of nuisance tax,” he said, adding that “businesses are suffering under your watch. We are united that we will not support E-levy, we will not vote for E-levy.”
This was after he presented a statement on the E-levy in the House.
“I, therefore, move the motion” for the passage of the E-levy, he said.
Obuasi West MP Kwaku Kwarteng seconded the motion.
However, just before he finished making his statement Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu rose and said they could not deliberate on it because they did have access to the report. His position was supported by Tamale Central lawmaker Murtala Mohammed.
Ruling on the matter, Speaker Alban Bagbin said, “The copies of the report are being distributed now, I don’t think it is proper for us to suspend sitting, I will give you time to read the report to make a meaningful contribution.”
After the second consideration, the Minority was struck with a serious dilemma.
The Minority MPs in the Chamber was 136 excluding the Assin North MP who was in Court and had also filed a stay of execution at the Cape-Coast High Court which is yet to be finalized by the Court.
The Minority claimed the was caught between bringing him in to vote and risking the Majority to go to Court to nullify it or let him abstain and stage a walk out.
The Majority also was not having the full complement of their numbers, Adwoa Sarfo was absent and the sick MP was in an ambulance parked outside waiting.
So on the floor it was 136-136, if the Speaker calls for a voice vote and there’s a division, the Majority will bring in the sick MP who was in an Ambulance outside waiting to vote and they will get 137 as against the Minority’s 136 and E-levy will be passed.
The Minority then decided to rely on the quorum technicality, Remember the case of Justice Abdulai v. Attorney General, the Supreme Court had affirmed that quorum for decision making is strictly 138 MPs present and voting.
The Majority without Adwoa Sarfo had 136 on the floor, even if they had brought in the sick MP they would have been 137, one short of the 138 quorum required for decision making.
The Minority’s strategy now is to challenge the illegality that ensued today as against the Supreme Court’s own 3 weeks old decision and whether in three weeks the Supreme Court will depart from their own ruling on the quorum for decision making.
Source: expressnewsghana.com
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