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Sam Nartey George, MP, Ningo Prampram, has challenged his colleague from the governing NPP, who is also the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, to name the NDC MP who sent him the viral E-Levy birthday cake.
Speaking on Joy News’ ‘PM Express’ show, the MP gave a 24-hour ultimatum and indicated that if the Majority Leader and the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs fails to do so, Ghanaians will know he is a liar.
“Hon Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, MP for Suame, I’m looking you in the face through the camera; Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Leader of Government Business, I dare you to the NDC MP who sent you the cake. If you can’t name it in 24 hours, the whole country will know you are a liar…,” Sam George said.
When prompted by the host of the show that the Majority Leader has not come out to say anything about the cake, Sam George said, it has been put out by his colleague, Kennedy Nyarko Osei, MP for Akim Swedru.
“Well, it’s been put out by Kennedy Nyarko Osei, who is the Ranking Member on Roads and that is the official government position. So, he should come out and say Kennedy Nyarko Osei is lying,” Sam George stressed.
The Akim Swedru MP, had stated earlier that the viral E-Levy birthday cake presented to the Majority Leader during his birthday party, was a surprise from the Minority caucus in Parliament.
Sharing a Starr FM Twitter post to buttress his point, the MP indicated, “just because they are embarking on their yentua demonstration [today] so they decided to put this picture out to anger the people when they themselves led by the caucus brought this surprise cake. Hmmm!
“If anybody doubts who brought the surprised cake and later took pictures (sic) should read it from Starr FM.”
According to him, the Minority during the presentation of the E-Levy cake at the tail end of the party took pictures and videos of it and later decided to release them a day before their ‘yentua’ demonstration.
Meanwhile, Starr FM, had retracted, apologised and deleted an earlier post made on the E-Levy birthday cake from their social media pages.
Background
A special cake dubbed E-levy was prepared to mark the 65th birthday celebration of the Majority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah- Bonsu.
The event was held in Kumasi with scores of officials of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) including the Vice President and his wife in attendance.
It is unclear the thinking that went into the decision to design the cake in this manner at a time the government is encountering difficulty in getting the E-levy passed by Parliament.
About the E-Levy
On November 17, 2021, Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, announced the introduction of a 1.75% tax on all electronic transactions during the 2022 budget presentation before parliament.
According to him, this new directive forms part of strategies to widen the country’s tax net.
He added that the 1.75% tax is also to enhance financial inclusion and protect the vulnerable in the country.
The E-levy since its announcement by the Finance Minister has received public backlash from some Ghanaians especially Members of Parliament from the Minority Caucus.
At a recent press conference, the Minister outlined a number of modifications to the Bill and announced that the government continued to engage stakeholders on the bill ahead of resubmission before MPs.
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
