The eighth parliament of the 4th Republic of Ghana has resumed sitting, with the status quo in place. The near fisticuff over which party is in the majority or minority compelled the Speaker, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagin, to abruptly adjourn sitting indefinitely.
However, when the House reconvened on Monday, December 16, 2024 to commence the sittings of the seventh meeting of the fourth session of the Eighth Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana, the NPP Members of Parliament (MPs) sat at their usual place as the majority, and the NDC MPs sat at the left-hand side of the Speaker as the minority.
Also, the Speaker, throughout the proceedings referred to Afenyo-Markin as the Majority Leader and Ato Forson as the Minority Leader. There was no misunderstanding this time, as witnessed before they went on recess.
APPEAL
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, in his welcome address appealed to Members of Parliament (MPs) to carve a good image for the House in its dying moments.
He has thus urged the Business Committee and leadership of Parliament to sequence the activities of the House, prioritising legislative items. The 8th Parliament has enjoyed massive publicity, but largely for negative reasons.
The first day in the life of this Parliament witnessed chaos during the election of the Speaker. During the passage of the controversial E-Levy, there was near fisticuffs, and also just recently over some seats that were declared vacant or not.
“It is essential as leaders for us to act to preserve the gains of our democracy. In summary, I emphasise our sacred mandate to save the people of Ghana.
“This sacred mandate remains active until the end of this parliamentary term and nobody should forget that.
“Honourable Members, let us end this Parliament on a good note,” Bagbin stated.
BUSINESS
Speaker Bagbin mentioned that the House had a lot to do before it was dissolved, but the time left was not enough. He thus called for the loyal service, utmost dedication, focus and firm action of MPs.
He said that several crucial private and public bills, tax and financial requisitions, international agreements and committee reports are pending and at various stages of consideration.
“Unless we abandon the interest of the people and nation, there is no way the long list of government business on the Order Paper could be done within this limited period of time, before the end of the term of office of this Parliament”, he said.
He, therefore, proposed the House consider the expenditure in advance of the Appropriation Bill 2024, Environmental Protection Bill 2024, Boundary Commission Bill 2024, Social Protection Bill 2023, Parliament Transition Bill 2023, Parliamentary Service Bill 2024, and Public Accounts Committee Reports.
The vault on account, called the Expenditure in Advance of Appropriation 2024, is a critical bill, as that would permit the incoming government to pay public sector wages from January to March, before presenting a full budget for the 2025 fiscal year.
TAX WAIVERS
The leader of government business, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, presented the business for the week.
Among the list was the plan to grant some tax waivers to some companies under the One District, One Factory policy.
This caught the attention of the NDC MPs, who reiterated their long-held position to reject the grant of tax exemptions.
The MP for North Tongu, Samuel OkudzetoAblakwa, indicated that if allowed, the incoming Mahama government would be in a fix.“I mean, why do you want to saddle the next government with these huge revenue losses when you have been roundly rejected at the polls?” Ablakwa asked.
However, he swiftly touted that the Mahama government has promised to abolish “obnoxious and nuisance taxes and “then you are creating more fiscal liabilities for us. So, we want to serve notice that we are not going to support these tax waivers.”
His position was corroborated by the Minority Leader, Cassiel Ato Forson, who said the tax exemption, if granted, would be “a fiscal strain on the next budget.”
Apart from the about US$350 million tax waiver the government is asking for, it is also seeking to purchase Ships worth 140 million Euros for the Ghana Armed Forces. But the minority would not yield to the demand.
DOUBLE STANDARD
In response, the Majority Leader, Afenyo-Markin, could not agree with the position of OkudzetoAblakwa, pointing out the double standards in the stance of the minority on the tax exemptions.
He questioned how the minority would reject the move by the Akufo-Addo government to grant tax waivers to corporate Ghana, but at the same time state that the incoming Mahama government would cut down on obnoxious taxes.
If that were to be so, why would this same incoming government reject the 1D1F tax [waivers], which is giving an incentive,because we don’t want too many imposition of taxes on corporate Ghana. You are saying that you are going to repeal taxes; we are giving an incentive, you say no.”
NOT NEW
While the Majority Leader made the point that the exemptions being sought had been in the house for the past two years, the minister for Defence, DomincNitiwul, said the GAF had been pursuing the purchase of the Ships for three years now.
The House adjourned sitting to Tuesday, December 16, 2024 with a call on the government side to prioritise the vault on account, instead of the tax waivers and other bills.
