Convener for the pressure group, Justice for Ghana Movement, Bernard Monarh, has described the government’s Town Hall meeting on the controversial E-levy, held in Koforidua on Thursday, as one that lacks broader consultation.
The Town Hall Meeting was held to sensitize Ghanaians on the proposed 1.75% electronic transaction levy, which is awaiting approval or otherwise by Parliament.
The E-levy when passed will tax all electronic transactions including Mobile Money and bank transfers among other things.
Speaking to Citi News, Convener for Justice for Ghana Movement, Bernard Monarh, said its members will continue with the picketing at parliament next week Tuesday, February 1.
“That was a charade of a public forum called consultation. There was no member of the minority or any other person at that forum. This is a Bill put before parliament, meaning that it has gone out of the Executive arm of government. This means that parliament and its subcommittees will be responsible for the public consultation on this Bill. So we were expecting that the parliamentary select committee on Finance and Trade should be the ones talking about this policy.”
“Unfortunately, this is not what was done. So if the Ministry still decides that it will still go ahead with something that is in the hands of parliament, it’s telling you their level of desperation. More importantly, if you take the Ministers of Finance, Communications and Information and the Deputy Majority Leader to go and speak, do you come and say you have engaged in broad consultation”, Bernard Monarh asked.
Members of the pressure group were at the entrance of Parliament House on Tuesday to demand that the Electronic Transfer Levy is not passed into law.
That was not the first time the group is registering their displeasure over the controversial E-levy bill which when passed will tax electronic transactions like mobile money transfers by 1.75%.
The group has further indicated that it will picket at parliament for three days to drum home their demands
On December 8, 2021, the group converged on the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park to protest the 2022 budget.
The protesters planned to end the exercise by picketing at Parliament House, but they were denied.
The picketing was aimed at putting pressure on Parliament to withdraw the 2022 budget, which they say is not in the interest of the country.
They also did not regard a restraining order from the police accusing them of exhibiting bad faith on their picketing. Bernard Mornah indicated that nothing will stop his team from rejecting the e-levy proposed in the 2022 budget.
It has thus vowed to pitch camp at parliament until the tax policy is withdrawn.
