Parliament must focus on demanding accountability on how revenues from the proposed E-Levy will be utilised rather than opposing its introduction, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei- Mensah- Bonsu, has urged.
According to him, the house must as part of its accountability mechanisms demand of government specific estimates for specific sectors and then put in the necessary strategies to ensure that the monies were utilised for their intended purpose.
“It is estimated that on the face value, the E-Levy is going to rake in about GH¢8 billion and it is important that we are informed beforehand how much of this amount will be given to road construction, how much will go into providing education infrastructure, health and other areas of development, and then evolve a strategy to ensure that the monies are invested in those specific areas,” he emphasised.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu made the call yesterday in Accra when he took his turn at the Wednesday edition of the Minister’s briefing organised by the Ministry of Information.
He noted that the country had reached a stage where it must begin to raise monies internally for its own development, stressing that the COVID-19 pandemic had pushed the country into a level where borrowing to finance development was no more feasible.
Mr Kyei-Mensah -Bonsu, who is the Majority Leader in parliament, said that some high level of consensus on the E-Levy was still ongoing and believed that a compromise would be reached on the levy.
“It should be part of the responsibility of parliament to demand of government that yes, we have come so far, so let the Minister of Finance tell us what the monies will be used for.
“That is transparency and accountability, and yes if the people get to know that you have used their monies for tangibles and they believe in what you are doing, then they will be motivated to come along,” he said.
The Minister said what would be generated through the E-Levy, compared to the existing road fund, was more and Ghanaians must support the government to succeed in that direction.
He said road contractors were owed more than GH¢4.2billion and the E-Levy would help resolve some of these challenges, stressing that “it is important for us to come to terms with the fact that cost of road construction and maintenance had escalated over the last two decades.”
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, touching on parliament, said ways and means must be evolved to address the high attrition rate in parliament since the practice was affecting the quality and efficiency of parliament.
He explained that for parliament to be accountable, it required some level of strong and experienced leadership, adding that “parliament required being transparent and accountable.”
However, he said this could be achieved only if Members of Parliament were allowed to operate independently from the control of their parties.
“Parliament is as strong as the leadership of the committees and strengthening the heads of the various Parliamentary committees is the only way out,” he emphasised.
BY CLIFF EKUFUL
