‘New year, same old insensitivity’ – Duffour slams govt’s E-levy plans

MPs fight over controversial E-levy

Parliament reconvenes January 25, 2022

Former Finance Minister, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor has lashed out at the government particularly the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta over plans to reintroduce the controversial E-levy bill before Parliament when the House reconvenes on January 25, 2022.

Ken Ofori-Atta speaking at a press conference in Accra on Wednesday, January 19, 2022 disclosed that the bill will be resubmitted before the legislative arm of government for its approval.

He expressed his optimism in the bill getting the needed support to push through after extensive consultations.

“After extensive consultations, the E-levy will be re-submitted to Parliament this month. We look forward to joining hands with our Honourable Members of Parliament to approve the e-levy on a consensus basis, so we can collectively address the big issue of unemployment,” he said.

Responding to Ofori-Atta’s views, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor stated that even though the country has been ushered into a New Year with things expected to be done differently, the government is stuck in the past and unwilling to change.

“It’s January 2022, yet the government’s idea of creating a better future for the Ghanaian people is to re-introduce the unpopular and destructive e-levy bill, and they do so in the face of the current economic hardship in our country. New year, same old insensitivity,” he wrote on his Facebook timeline on January 20, 2022.

It will be recalled that in December 2022, a vote on the controversial bill ended in fisticuffs as MPs on both sides of the house violently disagreed on some voting processes.

This was as a result of the first deputy speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu’s attempt to cede his seat to the second deputy speaker Andrew Asiamah to participate in the voting process even though he was presiding at the time- a move strongly resisted the minority.

The E-levy bill if passed in its current form will see a 1.75% rate slapped on all electronic transactions including mobile money.