"NDC has reintroduced E-Levy" – Afenyo-Markin fires in Parliament

Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has accused the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) of reintroducing the much-criticized Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy) through what he described as a deceptive legislative maneuver.

Speaking passionately on the floor of Parliament, Mr. Afenyo-Markin challenged the Finance Minister’s move to pass the Energy Sector Levy (Amendment) Bill under a Certificate of Urgency, insisting it is a veiled attempt to bring back the unpopular E-Levy.

“Mr. Speaker, how can the Finance Minister, in one breath, repeal the E-Levy and in the next, reintroduce it?” he questioned.

“This is the E-Levy. You’ve introduced E-Levy, then you say you run it through a Certificate of Agency. What is Energy? Is it not ‘E’? The short form of this new levy is E-Levy. That’s what you are doing – reintroducing the E-Levy,” he added.

The Minority Leader criticized the lack of transparency surrounding the Finance Ministry’s approach, stating that the justifications presented by the Minister were never previously discussed or agreed upon.

He also accused the government of attempting to bypass proper parliamentary procedure and scrutiny.

“What stopped the Finance Minister from engaging this side of the House?” he asked. “You said in your budget there would be no new taxes or levies. Now you repeal E-Levy and bring it back in disguise. Ghana is watching.”

Mr. Afenyo-Markin also questioned the precedent being set by rushing such significant financial legislation without adequate debate, warning that such actions could haunt the government in the future.

The Energy Sector Levy (Amendment) Bill was introduced to Parliament earlier in the day by the Finance Minister and immediately faced stiff opposition from the Minority.

Despite government claims that the bill does not amount to a reintroduction of the E-Levy, the Minority Leader insisted the similarities in intent and structure are too striking to ignore.

“This is the House of Records,” he said. “Let the truth be told: the E-Levy is back.”

Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith