The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta is expected to withdraw the controversial Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy) bill currently before Parliament next week.
This was disclosed by Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin during the presentation of the business statement for the ensuing week.
“Having said so, I shall pray you Mr. Speaker to permit these proposals to be considered by the House in accordance with order 162 and subject to order 63 of the rules of this House. Mr. Speaker attached here too is the business for the ensuing week have been programmed and we have several questions for Tuesday the 8th of February through to Friday,” he disclosed.
Responding, the Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak, however, demanded from the Majority and the government on the way forward for the bill.
According to him, the government must not rush in returning the bill to Parliament under a certificate of urgency but rather allow the Finance Committee time to embark on the stakeholder consultations.
“If there is the likelihood that you can withdraw this and unforeseen circumstances. All these are things that you can measure because you leave the whole thing to only your arena. So we want to plead that there should be certain of when we want to do this.
“If he wants to come and withdraw, let him come and withdraw now so that we will all have the certainty that the business is no longer before us. Therefore, it cannot be taken until it is reintroduced. But the way it is, Mr. Speaker I am sorry to say almost every week we will have to be raising these concerns,” the Asawase Member of Parliament said worriedly.
He continued “Because we don’t have clarity, we don’t have certainty and we should remember that the life of a Member of Parliament is not always seating in the Chamber. There are so many other things to be done as Members of Parliament and we cannot just preclude ourselves into the Chamber without certainty where and when a business would take place.”
