Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga East, has stated that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) will move to repeal draconian taxes, including the controversial e-levy, if New Patriotic Party (NPP) MPs follow through with their plan to boycott parliamentary proceedings.
This follows an announcement by Effutu MP and leader of government business, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, on Thursday, October 17, that NPP MPs would indefinitely boycott all parliamentary activities in protest against Speaker Alban Bagbin’s ruling, which declared four parliamentary seats vacant.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show with Bernard Avle on Friday, October 18, Ayine emphasized that parliamentary business would continue as scheduled, regardless of the NPP’s participation.
“We will sit, and we have more than half the members of Parliament on our side. We will start implementing our manifesto even on Tuesday, so they [the NPP] should stay off and we will go ahead and repeal the e-levy,” Ayine declared. He also pointed out that Article 108 of the Constitution allows private members’ bills to be used to amend or repeal tax laws.
Ayine, a former Deputy Attorney General, underscored that the NDC, with its numerical advantage in the House following the Speaker’s ruling, is now the Majority party, while the NPP has become the Minority. “Majoritarian determination is by numbers and we [NDC] have more numbers than them [NPP] and it is as clear as daylight. We are the Majority and they are the Minority,” he said.
He further asserted that the Speaker’s ruling means the four affected MPs—Cynthia Mamle Morrison (Agona West), Kwadjo Asante (Suhum), Peter Kwakye-Ackah (Amenfi Central), and Andrew Amoako Asiamah (Fomena)—are no longer members of Parliament, and their seats would remain vacant.
In addition, Ayine hinted that should the president refuse to acknowledge such actions from Parliament, it could constitute “high treason,” opening the door for potential impeachment proceedings against him. “The president cannot continue to disrespect certain things, and if he refuses such things, they constitute high treason and we can begin impeachment proceedings against him,” Ayine added.