Parliament to sit on Mondays in other to fast-track the approval of the 2022 budget
Ghana’s legislature has resolved to commence sittings on Mondays which is not usually a Parliamentary business day until the house rises for the Christmas festivities on December 21, 2021.
The main aim is at speeding up the approval process of the 2022 budget which stirs a lot of controversy due to the entrenched positions held by the two caucuses in the legislator to some aspects of the budget.
Both Majority and Minority sides have pledged to agree to disagree for the approval of the budget.
To further speed up the process apart from the travel ban placed on Ministers and their deputies they have also been directed by President Akufo-Addo to also aid in the appropriation of the bill.
Deputy Majority leader and legislator for Effutu constituency Alexander Afenyo-Markin revealed the measures adopted to ensure the passage of the bill.
“We have agreed to have sitting on Monday and have also extended sitting and the necessary support systems will be put in place to ensure the pleasure of members even as they labour for the ensuing period.”
“I want to assure you that we have discussed these things and even ministers have been whipped to make time for committee sittings.”
Interestingly issues regarding the E-levy still lingers on as some Minority legislators have deemed the over GHS241 million allocation for revenue monitoring and assurance as a dubious venture which is needless.
Already most Ghanaians and Civil Society Groups do not want this E-levy to be approved and expressed misgivings about its allocation.
Chief Executive of IMANI Centre policy and Education Mr Franklin Cudjoe called out the government for such an allocation.
He explained that it doesn’t support the reasons given for the proposed levy.
“We tend to spend too much in this country to collect some of these taxes. And I think the government is compounding the problems of the E-levy just when some of us were beginning to understand some of the reasons given.”
“I think this GHS241 million allocation for this E-levy is needless. It flies in the face of the motive for this tax. So I’m appalled at this decision when in actual fact there is some supposed entity in place to do the collection.”
By: Stella Annan | myactiveonline.com Twitter @activetvgh
