Support e-levy if you want us to stop borrowing - Majority urges NDC MPs

NDC MPs maintain opposition to e-levy

MoMo vendors to strike on December 23

Finance Committee to present e-levy bill before parliament

The Majority group in Parliament has urged its counterparts on the minority side who are on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress to lend it support to the controversial e-levy if it does not want government to continue borrowing to fund the country’s development.

The minority have in recent times criticized the Akufo-Addo-led administration for excessively borrowing despite receiving more revenue, particularly from oil than any other president in the history of the country.

Leader of the Minority, Haruna Iddrisu, supporting a motion to borrow money to fight the galamsey menace, admonished government to lessen the rate at which it was borrowing.

In response to the minority leader’s submission, Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, called on minority members to rally behind government in approving the e-levy as part of efforts to internally generate revenue.

“Mr. Speaker I have heard the concerns of the minority leader regarding borrowing …that as a nation we shouldn’t be borrowing and borrowing. Mr. Speaker he may be right...perhaps he’s right in saying so and I agree with him that we shouldn’t be borrowing. And that is why his side should support effort at raising revenue from within especially the e-levy…the e-levy which they publicly agreed to the principle and the policy and chicken out by saying they don’t support it because Mr. Speaker if we stop borrowing, the alternative is to raise revenue from within and I think he’s made a national call…a very patriotic call coming from the minority leader and I support it. So going into 2022 we should look at ways at generating revenue from within,” he stated.

The Effutu MP charged the minority leader to act in good faith for his side to “support government to introduce this e-levy which is going to give us at least 6.9 billion to help the road sector.”

Haruna Iddrisu however indicated that the deputy majority leader was attributing words to him which were not a proper reflection of verbatim transcription of the Hansard.

Meanwhile, all twelve (12) NDC MPs on the Finance committee voted “No” against the approval of the report on the e-levy bill whiles all 12 NPP MPs voted “yes” according to online news portal Woezor.tv.

The Chairman of the Committee, Kwaku Kwarteng, however exercised his casting vote to tilt the vote to 13 - 12.

This means the Finance Committee has agreed to present e-levy bill before Parliament.

If approved in its current state, the e-levy will impose a 1.75% charge on all electronic transactions including mobile money.