… are these politicians taking Ghanaians for a ride?
It is with great dismay I have observed what seem to be politically calculated and hightech insecurity befalling the innocent Ghanaian over the past one and half decade.
The effects of these cruelty on the part of the two main political parties is what transpired in recent past general elections; where most eligible voters failed to exercise their voting franchise.
The theory now becomes…everything wrong in opposition and all right for the incumbent party.
Is Ghana’s democracy on the safer path?
In opposition they preach against almost every policy initiated by their political opponents, go on demonstrations just to make the country ungovernable for parties in power.
Yes they are mostly fortunate to snatch power with the propaganda, but what become of their regime?
Apparently, they do even worse things than same things they stood against when in opposition; coupled with corruption and hooliganism.
The mistakes they criticise their opponents for are the same mistakes they commit and even more.
No one prayed and wished for the guns to take over the beautiful democratic government in our neighbours countries but like we usually say, “when persuasion fails, force must apply.”
Can’t you see the credibility of our enviable democracy is losing it?
A typical case is when Parliament under the erstwhile Akufo Addo administration passed the government’s flagship tax legislation on electronic transactions.
The Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy), which was first pegged at 1.75% in the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government presented to the House in November 2021, was passed at 1.5% .
The NDC Minority, which has 137 out of the 275 seats in the chamber, had opposed the bill, leading to a standoff that travelled for more than three months.
On December 21, 2021, a beastly scene occurred on the night in the chamber of Parliament, with MPs openly throwing punches when the E-Levy was being voted upon by MPs on whether it should be taken under a certificate of urgency.
Before the E-Levy Bill was brought to the House, the Finance Committee handled it at the committee level where they were also split on the bill, with 12 of the Majority NPP MPs endorsing the bill to be sent to the floor whilst another 12 NDC MPs said they were rejecting it.
As a result, the Chairman of Committee, Kwaku Agyemang Kwarteng, NPP MP for Obuasi West, had to break the tie by voting to make the Majority 13 as against the Minority’s 12.
The bill was not passed without drama, with NDC MPs boycotting the proceedings at the eleventh hour upon seeing that it was short of the numbers needed to block the bill from going through, having participated fully in the debate.
NDC MP for Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam, Cassiel Ato Forson had argued that the tax’s structure had an inherent disproportionate effect on lower-income people and those outside the formal banking system who rely heavily on mobile money transfers.
According to him, the tax was “regressive and abusive” since its “structure is taking money from people’s pocket” and that “it is a tax on mobile money” and protested the varying of the Order of Business in the House to take the motion on the E-Levy Bill for a second reading.
In a twist of political irony, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), afternoon winning the 2024 elections convincingly, once a staunch opponent of the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy), has introduced a new GH₵1 per litre fuel levy that far exceeds the burden of the much-criticized E-Levy.
This decision contradicts the NDC’s prior position as champions of the ordinary Ghanaian and raises serious questions about fairness, economic justice, and policy consistency.
I have seen ‘some’ of these politicians too well and ‘some’ of them are not worth sticking a finger up for.
I think the value you get from them is they are same whether NPP, CPP or NDC. They shift the goal post to favour them as and when necessary.
Chipo Kwaku.
Source: yagbonradioonline
