The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has described comments by Former President John Dramani Mahama regarding the e-levy as myopic and retrogressive.
According to Communications Director of the NPP, Yaw Buaben Asamoa, old approaches cannot be used in saving the ravages of the pandemic on the economy.
He said a revisit to the International Moneatry Fund (IMF) would only worsen the economic situation and leave the country in a similarly poor state Mahama left it.
The former president in an earlier epistle addressed to the government suggested that Ghana returns to the IMF as an alternative in order not to pass the controversial electronic transaction levy.
“The government must as a matter of urgency, borrow a leaf from our sound approach toward the challenges we faced in 2015. We immediately convened the Senchi Economic Forum at which we tapped the brains and expertise of a wide variety of knowledgeable people and stakeholders and built a consensus on our economic plan going forward.
The knowledge shared at Senchi crystallized into our Homegrown Fiscal Consolidation Programme, which we eventually presented to the IMF for support. The IMF agreed entirely with our homegrown strategy whose implementation restored stability to the economy and laid the strong foundations that this government, just as the World Bank in 2016 forecasted, profited from between 2017 and 2020,” portion of his epistle read.
But reacting to his submissions, the NPP Communications Director told journalists at a press briefing on Wednesday morning that,
“Former President Mahama’s outburst that the e-levy is “neither adequate nor viable” seems myopic. Granted that he is entitled to take advantage of the political flames being fanned by his NDC, he needs to come quickly to the realisation that the new normal is a far cry from what he knew and experienced before and that old fashioned assumptions cannot work like before.”
Yaw Buaben Asamoah also criticized continuous attempts by the minority in parliament to prevent the passage of the e-levy.
He argued that the minority side of the house can raise objections to policies by the majority side but are not to interfere with its passage.
“We in the NPP 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 their policy.”
“In view of the virtual parity in numbers, the NDC Minority appears bent on doing worse in the Eighth Parliament.
“Importantly, the resistance in Parliament, especially to the role and rights of the 1st and 2nd Deputy Speakers of Parliament, has no basis in law as captured in the Standing Orders of Parliament. Order 13 (1), entitles the Speaker presiding to rise at any time, irrespective of the stage of proceedings and to invite another Speaker into the Chair to continue Presiding. Apart from the Rt. Hon. Speaker, who has no vote, Deputy Speakers, being Members of Parliament, have a vote.
Thus per order 13 (1), the First Deputy Speaker, may at any time whilst presiding, leave the Chair for the Second Deputy Speaker to take the Chair without needing to state a reason, and to proceed to vote as a right, being a representative of a constituency,” he added.
By Laud Adu Asare|3news.com|Ghana