Even ahead of its resumption, Parliament is already bracing itself for another round of drama.
Starting from the main gate, security personnel are under pressure from dozens of members of a pressure group, Justice 4 Ghana, vowing to reject the introduction of the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy).
The group, led by Bernard Mornah, the former Chairman of the People’s National Convention (PNC), showed up on Tuesday morning to occupy Parliament in protest of the E-Levy.
According to him, the Police were duly notified about the demonstration and is, therefore, confused as to why they have not been allowed entry into the premises.
In a January 18 statement, the group hinted that today’s picket will last until “the vote on the E-levy Bill is completed”.
But developments within the past 24 hours mean this could be a dicey move.
Even though the Finance Ministry has communicated its intent to re-introduce the levy proposal in Parliament, Banda MP, Ahmed Ibrahim says the actual business for the day excludes the e-levy.
“So today [Monday], I was not surprised that they went for a business committee meeting to my disbelieve government could not table the e-levy as part of the business to be executed this week. So the e-levy is not on the business statement for this week,” he said on Monday.
But Bernard Mornah does not seem satisfied with the supposed re-scheduling. He insisted that the aggrieved members will not take their word for it.
“Can you trust the Majority and the Finance Minister when they can come under certificate of emergency in the middle of the night to present this and force their way through?”
Speaking to JoyNews, Mr Mornah added that even though they have been denied entry into the facility, some of his members are already inside in plain clothes, ready to hold the fort while they protest outside.
Parliament adjourned proceedings to January 25, thereby cutting short any attempt to approve or reject the E-levy Bill.
It happened after proceedings in the House were brought to a halt, following the fisticuff among members of the two sides of the House on Monday, December 20, 2021.
Ahead of today’s sitting, the Speaker, Alban Bagbin, has urged the leadership of the Majority caucus to prioritise consultations in their decision-making processes with regard to the business of the House.
So far, security presence has been beefed up in and around Parliament to ensure the safe execution of today’s agenda as Parliament resumes.
