General News of Sunday, 24 April 2022
Source: www.ghanaweb.live
2022-04-24Only Supreme Court can determine fate of E-Levy now – Dafeamekpor
South Dayi MP, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor
Dafeamekpor says Parliament has become 'functus officio'
Supreme Court has the power to annul laws on the grounds of unconstitutionality - MP insists
Suit challenging passage of E-Levy an ‘exercise in futility’ - Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu
South Dayi MP,
Read full articletarget='_blank' href='/GhanaHomePage/people/person.php?ID=3097'>Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has said that the minority caucus in Parliament is right to be using the Supreme Court to avert the passage of the Electronic Transfer Levy, rather than using parliamentary procedures as Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has asserted.
According to the Member of Parliament (MP), Parliament as an institution now lacks the power to start processes that will help stop the implementation of the E-Levy, myjoyonlince.com reports.
Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has said that the suit filed by the minority to get the Supreme Court to null the passage of the E-Levy was an exercise in futility because the court cannot interfere with procedures in the house.
“I want to tell him [Majority Leader] that once they passed the Bill into an act and submitted for presidential assent, Parliament has become functus officio, so we can no longer remedy the defect in Parliament. The remedy must occur at the Supreme Court so he [Majority Leader] should appreciate that,” Dafeamekpor said in an interview on JoyNews.
Dafeamekpor, who is also the Ranking Member on the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee of Parliament, added that once the bill is now law no procedure in Parliament can be used to change it.
Also, he urged the majority leader to refrain from making pronouncements on the case since the Supreme Court is yet to hear the case and give its ruling.
He added that recent comments made on the case by Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu amounted to a contempt of the court.
The MP further stated that the “Supreme Court has the power to strike down any law that has been passed by Parliament on grounds of unconstitutionality”, contrary to the assertion of some of the members of the majority caucus of Parliament.
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