Why NDC didn’t call for division during E-Levy approval

E-Levy law has been passed

Minority staged a walkout

Many have criticised the opposition for that decision

During the approval of the controversial E-Levy Bill on Tuesday, March 29, 2022, the opposition NDC staged a walkout during the second reading of the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy) Bill.

Prior to the walkout, staged as a sign of their

Read full articleopposition to the levy, Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu reiterated that the levy will have an adverse effect on businesses and worsen the plight of individuals.

As the NDC MPs began to leave the chamber, Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu urged Speaker Alban Bagbin to pose the question to affirm the motion to consider the Bill.

The Minority subsequently filed out of the chamber even before Speaker Bagbin put the question after the Second Reading of the Bill.

In the aftermath of the incident, people have questioned why the Minority didn’t call for a division in the House since both Majority and Minority had 136 members present.
Speaking on Asem FM’s Ekosii Sen, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said, the Minority on that day took the smartest decision of walking out because the NPP had the grand scheme of wheeling ‘indisposed’ Ahanta West MP into the Chamber if they had called for a division.

“The Majority group had 136 members in the chamber at the time, however, we were smart enough to detect that an ambulance had arrived, and the Hon. Ebenezar Kojo Kum was in the ambulance…those saying 136 on both sides, so, you should have put it to a vote, no. They [Majority] would have called for a division and it would have given our colleagues [Majority] enough time to wheel Hon Kojo Kum in either on wheelchair or stretcher and that would have given them 137…,” he explained.

Ablakwa noted that the Minority was also sensitive about not being so hard on the MP by objecting that he was not of sound mind, therefore, he cannot vote.

Touching on how the Minority arrived at walking out as the best strategy, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa explained further:

“Fortunately for us, our colleagues are short of one person. Our intel shows that Hon Adwoa Safo, our dear sister is still outside, therefore, no matter what they do, they [Majority] cannot go beyond 137. Instead of going to have a fight or trying to prevent a sick person from entering the Chamber to vote…, we decided that the best thing is to stage a walkout. What happened on November 26 when the Majority walked out to deny us a quorum for the budget not to be rejected, it was time for us to also adopt that same strategy. It works for the goose, it must work for the gander.”

He further stated, “even this sitting of Tuesday, March 29, was a surprise; they didn’t tell us. The business statement of Friday didn’t have E-Levy in it for the ensuing week; we were taken by surprise. This is a period that the Majority are not consistent in Parliament and we have to adjourn on countless occasions because we don’t have the quorum. At all times, we [Minority] had been the Majority then suddenly, Tuesday all of them are present. They were seated by 9.30 am even before 10 am.

“The intel that we had picked over the weekend was clearly confirmed when we arrived in Parliament. Some of our colleagues were even abroad; we had to fly down Hon Ahiafor, we had to fly down Hon Mahama Ayariga – who was in Sierra Leone on an ECOWAS mission. Hon Dorcas Affo-Toffey was doing a programme at the borders with Hon Teddy Safori Addi, we had to let them come back to Accra. Some colleagues had an accident on their way; one of our colleagues was due for surgery and the doctor had advised he must go on Monday, but we had to curtail all of that,” Ablakwa stressed.

He observed that it has not been easy for the Minority to kick E-Levy out of Parliament for five good months.

“Those who are saying we should have gone in to have that fight, what will it have achieved?” he quizzed.

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