The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has described as dangerous the Majority Leader’s claim that their application to block the collection of E-levy on May 1 at the Supreme Court is an exercise in futility.
The Majority in Parliament in a press conference on Friday downplayed the attempt by three Members of the Minority to place an injunction on implementation of Electronic Transfer Levy.
The Minority MPs have filed an application at the Supreme Court for an injunction on implementation of the levy pending the hearing of their substantive case challenging the constitutionality of passage of the E-Levy.
The Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu who addressed the media described the move by the NDC MPs as dangerous since there are internal parliamentary processes they could have resorted to.
But, speaking to Naa Dedei on Starr Today Friday, Mr. Ablakwa indicated that the Majority Leader cannot advised the Minority on where to seek redress on matters of the Constitution.
“What the majority leader is saying is dangerous to democracy. What does he know about the court that he is not telling us, what meeting has taken place in closed doors that we are not aware, how does he know what the Supreme Court will say in the matter? The Majority leader should know that like the bible said nothing behind closed will stay there forever.
“In the Abdulai case the Supreme Court held that when the matter is about constitutional interpretation, constitutional enhancement the forum is the Supreme Court and that Ghana does not operate Parliamentary Sovereignty Doctrine like we have the United Kingdom.
“So when it is about Constitutional breach, Constitutional infraction any matter relating to the Constitution you don’t say that its internal Parliamentary matters, that is the new position of the law. So the Majority is totally out of order he has to open his mind to the new reality and stop pontificating and dictating to us as to which forum to go to seek redress,” the North Tongu MP stated.
He continued “We believe very strongly without any equivocation that we have gone to the right forums, the Supreme Court has said if it’s about Constitution you come to us and we are following those tenet or principles that have been very well outlined. That is what we are doing we have done nothing wrong, there is nothing inimical about what we have done.
“Majority leader should rather be worried about how they are mutilating the Constitution, how they are bastardizing the Constitution. We all know that Hon. Adwoa Safo is nowhere near the shores of Ghana and indeed she is still not back.”
The North Tongu Member of Parliament earlier indicated that the Minority is monitoring the space on the E-levy.
Speaking to Nana Aba Anamoah on Starr Chat, he said there is no way the government will dare go ahead and implement the E-levy.
“We are monitoring and if they go ahead and implement it we will sight them for contempt at the Supreme Court,” he added.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Isaac Dzidzoamenu
