The Parliament of Ghana went on a recess yesterday after proceedings to continue the resolution as to whether the E-Levy Bill should be considered under a certificate of urgency or not ended abruptly.
The First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu, announced the House had adjourned sitting sine die. The adjournment followed a free-for-all brawl on Monday night, in which some MPs were injured.
The House had reconvened yesterday to vote on the E-levy bill, but leaders from both sides agreed the environment was not suitable for any meaningful business following the unpleasant events of the previous night.
Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, after the correction of Votes and Proceedings on the floor of the House, implored the First Deputy Speaker to adjourn the House in the hope to continue business on a more serene atmosphere when it reconvenes.
He prayed the sit-in Speaker to adjourn the House until on or about January 18, 2022 for cooler heads to prevail because, according to him, the House was not in a serene environment to conduct business, considering the events of the previous night.
According to the Majority Leader, the adjournment would allow for cool heads to continue with business in a much more serene environment.
More consultations
The Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu, in seconding the motion, said the adjournment would allow for more consultations on all pertinent issues, stressing that the country should not suffer as a result of the recent unpleasant happenings in Parliament.
He said it was important for them to carry the country along, and that they needed to demonstrate to the country that Ghana’s democracy is growing and would not suffer some unacceptable eyesores as had been witnessed on the floor of the House.
He therefore concurred with the Majority Leader to adjourn the House sine die for some consultation on the outstanding issues.
The First Deputy Speaker consequently adjourned sitting sine die without the passage of the controversial Electronic Transaction Levy into an Act.
Addressing the press after the adjournment, Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said the recess would afford the Majority and the government more time to do further consultations on the proposal.
“I think that this will also allow us sometime to have further consultations among ourselves…It is the reason why the First Deputy Speaker had to adjourn the House sine die. As you know, the Budget has been passed; there was an attempt to portray that that there is no budget; there is a budget, the Appropriations Bill [is] passed,” he stated.
Background
Presenting the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the government in Parliament, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said the government had decided to place a levy on all electronic transactions to widen the tax net and rope in the informal sector.
He said the new tax would be known as the “Electronic Transaction Levy, or E-Levy”.
“Electronic transactions covering mobile money payments, bank transfers, merchant payments and inward remittances will be charged at an applicable rate of 1.75 percent which shall be borne by the sender except for inward remittances, which will be borne by the recipient,” Mr Ofori-Atta said.
“This new policy comes into effect from 1 February 2022. The government will work with all industry partners to ensure that their systems and payment platforms are configured to implement the policy,” he added.
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