You had no excuse to allow approval of E-Levy – Ras Mubarak tells Minority

Ras Mubarak, a former Member of Parliament (MP) for Kumbungu Constituency, has blamed the leadership of the Minority for failing to deploy its parliamentary prowess to prevent the passage of the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy) bill.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, March 29, Mubarak said the Minority had no excuse to galvanise its members into the Chamber to vote on the passage of the levy particularly when the Majority managed to bring in a seriously ill Ahanta West MP, Ebenezer Kojo Kum, to participate in the passage of the Bill.

He further praised the governing NPP for playing the game of politics better than the opposition NDC.

He said, “Politics is hard ball and clearly NPP plays it better. The Minority’s claim is that one of its members was on his way from court, so they didn’t have the numbers.”

Ras Mubarak continued: “Question, What happened to filibustering (the legitimate parliamentary process of delaying or obstructing a process). If the NPP was so determined to the point of wheeling a seriously ill MP in an ambulance to vote, the NDC had no excuse not exhausting legitimate parliamentary procedure to get its member into the chamber to vote,” he said.

“On a day where it mattered the most, leadership failed and that is what they will be remembered by when the history of this shambolic spectacle is written.

“Everyone knows the NPP is horrible, but that’s why you need a serious opposition to hold their balls by the fire and not make them get away with the kind of horrendous things they are getting away with in parliament,” he concluded.

About the E-Levy bill

The government of Ghana is seeking to charge electronic transactions that are more than GH¢100 on a daily basis.

Critics of the proposal have warned that this new levy will negatively impact the Fintech space, as well as hurt low-income people and those outside the formal banking sector.

The levy has been the source of tension in Parliament since it was introduced in the 2022 budget. The tensions culminated in a scuffle between lawmakers in Parliament in December 2021.

The government has, however, argued the levy would widen the tax net and that could raise an extra GH¢6.9 billion in 2022. There are also concerns that the government may securitise proceeds from the e-levy to raise extra revenue.