Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, has justified the controversial E-Levy the governing NPP is seeking to introduce.
According to him, all the taxes the NDC introduced before the NPP assumed office in 2017, were worse than the E-Levy the Akufo-Addo government is hoping to have passed by Parliament.
Speaking on Joy News’ ‘PM Express’, the Effutu MP indicated that the Minority in Parliament is being controlled by some external forces that are seeking to win the 2024 general elections.
He said, the NDC will be claiming that they are fighting the passage of the E-Levy because the ordinary Ghanaian is suffering but in the end, they are only seeking for votes.
Afenyo-Markin added that, both Majority and Minority formed a committee on the E-Levy and both sides of the House engaged as patriots devoid of any partisan considerations and the Minority side “came in with their position and how they wanted things done. They wanted a reduction, even the threshold, they wanted it to reduce further.
“They may not want to hear this but that is the naked truth. The NDC caucus in Parliament is being controlled by some forces and those forces are looking at the 2024 elections.
“Because you see, in one breathe, you are ready to share political risk with us, in another breathe you say that, it is your risk, yet, you are obstructing. We started, high powered delegation, not only MPs but senior members of their party outside Parliament; we had a certain understanding and we reported back…,” Afenyo-Markin explained.
He admitted that, he was too quick to announce the 1.5% charge of the E-Levy but the Minority side during the deliberation at the time we around one percent and a little above.
He said, even when Haruna Iddrisu, the Minority Leader announced publicly that he will be supporting a one percent charge of the E-Levy, the NDC members were not happy and they wanted to kick him out of the Minority Leadership in Parliament.
“Because at that point, they said no way, they were not ready for even the one percent, so, negotiations broke down. We had several meetings…and it got to a point they said ‘Oh! It is not us, it is the party decision; if it is your party’s decision to use E-Levy to fight for the 2024 elections, tell Ghanaians, [but] don’t tell Ghanaians that you are fighting for them because they are suffering,” he stressed.
“If an NDC man comes to tell you that he is fighting E-Levy because he wants you to be better off, he knows you are suffering and he is fighting for you, I, Kwamina, I am saying that man is doing that because he wants your vote.
“All the taxes that stayed in our books, till 2017, January 7, and all that we have introduced and add E-Levy, compare, you would realise that, the ordinary Ghanaian keeping the NDC taxes without E-Levy, would have been worse off today but the NDC will be throwing dust into your eyes and create the impression that if he comes into office, you will be better off, that is not correct. That’s not to say that, the ordinary Ghanaian is not suffering,” Afenyo-Markin noted.
ghanaweb.com
