James Gyakye Quayson, a troubled Assin North member of parliament, claims that the government is planning to have him expelled from the chamber because the majority needed to pass the divisive Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy) is insufficient.
The day the E-levy bill was introduced and approved by parliament, the MP who was speaking to constituents in his area claimed, was also the day he had to appear in court.
According to Gyakye Quayson, “They took me to court on the very day we were debating the passage of the E-Levy. I was forced to go because I did not want to be charged with contempt of court.
“As soon as I went to the court, they brought the bill for the E-levy, and it was passed that very day. But God does not like wickedness, they are now not getting anything from the E-levy.
“How can you tax poor people who are sending the little money they have gotten to their children in school? You (the government) don’t even use the money judiciously.”
Despite a walkout by the minority group in the House on Tuesday, March 29, 2022, parliament passed the bill.
The levy was reduced from the initial 1.75 percent proposed by the government to 1.5 percent by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, who was present in Parliament.
Ofori-Atta gave some details about the reduction, stating that the nation’s telcos had consented to lower their fees by 0.25 percentage points to a total of 0.75 percent.
Michael Ankomah-Nimfah, an Assin North resident, filed a parliamentary election petition at the Cape Coast High Court on December 30, 2020, contesting Quayson’s eligibility to serve as an MP.
He argued that the MP was ineligible on the grounds that he [Quayson] was still a Canadian citizen at the time he [Quayson] filed his nomination to run as a parliamentary candidate.
