James Agalga describes Akufo-Addo's assent of E-Levy Bill as a bad practice

E-Levy has been passed by Parliament

The rate was reduced from 1.75% to 1.5%

Minority caucus staged a walkout

James Agalga, Ranking Member on Parliament's Defense and Interior Committee, has expressed his disappointment in President Nana Addo Daankwa Akufo-Addo for compromising the work of the Supreme Court of Ghana in the suit filed by the Minority to challenge the approval of the E-Levy.

According to him, the President's assent of the Bill is a bad practice, which incident will only compromise the work of the judiciary.

“It is a bad practice for the President who knows that the court must be allowed to do their work without any form of interference, to do such a thing. He knows that following the alleged practice of approving the Bill, alleged because we walked out…we withdrew from the House and you know that the numbers from the Majority side was not more than 136...Why is the President in this kind of haste to give assent to the Bill into law, the passage of which has been seriously contested at the Supreme Court,” Agalga said while speaking to Joy News on the issue.

He added, “I think what is even before the court is enough to undo what the President has sought to do.”

The E-Levy Bill was passed by Parliament on Tuesday and it was given Presidential assent on Thursday, March 31, 2022. It has now become a binding law that will be operationalised as a revenue measure across the country.

The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta had earlier hinted that the implementation of the levy may commence in May 2022.

Speaking to journalists in Parliament, Ofori-Atta said, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) will have all the systems in place for the operationalization of the levy by then.

“We had a key meeting with the Controller General and the GRA and they have indicated to us that right at the beginning of May, they should be able to get the systems altogether,” he said.