Parliament reconvenes today

Parliament will resume sitting today, Tuesday, after legislators took a break for the Christmas and New Year holidays.

The third meeting of the 8th Parliament will see the passage of Bills and agreements, including the controversial E-Levy Bill.

Ahead of today’s meeting, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, is urging the two sides of the House to discuss more to reach a consensus on issues.

“The only way is to get the two sides to dialogue, cooperate with each other and achieve consensus.”

“This is an imperative imposed on us by the people of Ghana. We have no choice,” Mr. Bagbin said.

Parliament was compelled to adjourn its sitting to January 25, 2022, without passing the controversial Electronic Transaction Levy of 1.75%.

It came after the house reconvened on December 21, 2021, following the abrupt suspension of sittings by the Second Deputy Speaker, Andrews Asiamah, after a fight broke out during the voting on the levy.

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The Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, prayed the sit-in Speaker, First Deputy Speaker, Joe Osei Owusu, to adjourn the house for cooler heads to prevail.

Last week, the government said it will re-submit the Bill to Parliament, following the conclusion of extensive consultations on the controversial levy.

Ahead of the resubmission, some members of the Minority have already threatened to kick against the bill, but Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has challenged their threat, insisting that the Bill has already been approved and just needs backing legislation.

2021 ended in chaos for Parliament when a brawl broke out during a late-night session to consider passing the Electronic Transaction Levy under a certificate of urgency.