Ken Ofori-Atta, the Minister for Finance, has signalled to Parliament that the government may withdraw the Electronic Transaction Levy Bill by Friday 11 February.
It is expected that the bill will be reintroduced for consideration on Tuesday 15 February 2022, official communication from Parliament said.
According to Parliament’s business committee, the bill will be programmed for consideration in the fourth week of the month.
“Likely” withdrawal
“Mr Speaker, the Honourable Minister for Finance has given indication after his nationwide engagement with the citizenry on the bill, of the likelihood of the withdrawal of the bill and the reintroduction of [the bill] on Friday 11 February 2022 barring any unforeseen circumstances,” the Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, told the House.
“In the event that he is unlikely to withdraw and reintroduce the bill on Friday 11 February 2022, he may do so on Tuesday (15 February).
“… After the withdrawal and reintroduction of the bill, the business committee would programme the bill for consideration during the course of the fourth week of this meeting and Honourable Members are, therefore, encouraged to participate fully in the consideration of the bill for the passing of a good piece of legislation for the benefit of all,” Afenyo-Markin said.
End the suspense
Meanwhile, the Minority Chief Whip, Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, has expressed concern over the uncertainty regarding how the government is to present the bill. The lack of clarity, he alleges, is a tool in bigger plans by the Majority to spring a surprise on the Minority.
“If our colleagues from the Majority want us to have certainty, if you’re withdrawing, come and withdraw now and tell us that you’ll come back with the business so that we know that the business is not in the House,” Muntaka said.
“But so long as you leave it lingering and [are] using words like ‘likelihood’, ‘unforeseen circumstances’, for us in the Minority, the only conclusion is that you’re trying to lay ambush on us,” he said.
We’re not ready to resubmit E-Levy
Joseph Osei-Owusu, the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, says the government is still carrying out stakeholder engagements on the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy) Bill, hence its inability to resubmit the draft legislation before Parliament.
His comments come after the Minority in the House fumed over the Majority’s failure to present the bill in the House this week.
But Osei-Owusu said Parliament’s business committee is working to schedule the debate for the second week of February.
Speaking to Beatrice Adu on The Big Bulletin on Thursday (3 February 2022), the First Deputy Speaker declared: “We are simply not ready [to resubmit the bill to Parliament]. You see that public hearing is ongoing across the country.”
Nicholas Brown
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