HIPC and NRL should not be part of budget -
Minority
Workers must benefit from tax relief - MP
HIPC and NRL should not be part of budget -
Minority
Accra (Greater Accra) 2001
The Minority in Parliament on Thursday began argument seeking to delete the National Reconstruction Levy (NRL) and the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, from the 2001 budget proposals.
An amendment to that effect co-sponsored by six members including Mr Alban Bagbin, the Minority Leader, Alhaji Mohamed Mumuni, NDC-Kunbumgu, Mr Doe Adjaho, NDC-Avenor, also seeks to persuade the house to scrap the Minister of Finance's description of the budget as "interim".
Alhaji Mumuni, who moved the amendment, said since the HIPC and NRL were major national policies, government should have initiated broader consultation and debate before opting for them.
"We should have been given ample opportunity to debate, analyse and examine the issues critically before the government took the decision".
He said, even though, the majority of Ghanaians have expressed misgivings about the policies, especially, HIPC, government has already made up its mind.
The member argued that the term "interim" used by the Minister of Finance is real, saying, "he means it and not just a matter of semantics."
Mr Johnson Aseidu Nketsia, NDC-Wenchi West, lauded government for adopting some economic policies of the past government.
He said "economic consistency is good and it makes country's environment attractive to investors."
The member, however, objected to the HIPC adding that it would bring hardships to Ghanaians.
Nana Akomea, NPP-Okaikio South, lamented the collapse of industries in Ghana and gave the assurance that the government will revamp the sector to create more jobs.
The member said, "churches are taking over all the industrial plots because the industrial policies have failed."
He said government would seek to rationalise tariffs and stop the dumping of cheap goods on the Ghanaian market to make room for local industries to flourish.
Giving a ruling, the Speaker of the House, Mr Peter Ala Adjetey, stated that the proposed amendment to the budget by the Minority was proper and lawful for Parliament to examine and deal with.
He said the proposal should be jointly debated together with the original motion on the budget and that the amendment would first be put for a vote before the substantive motion.
The original motion is asking the House to approve the financial policy of the government for the year ending December 31, 2001, as moved by the Minister of Finance, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo on March 9.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 16 March 2001
Parliament on Thursday declared "Shame! Shame!" as an unparliamentary language that should henceforth not be used by members.
Shouts of "Shame! Shame!" greets a member as a form of heckling when he or she is ruled out of order or if the one is made to withdraw a statement on a point of order.
The Speaker, Mr Peter Ala Adjetey drew members attention to the word and expressed disgust at its usage saying MPs insist on being addressed as "Honourable" and that their actions must depict the honour that goes with the title.
He made the point when Mr Seidu Paakuna Adamu, NDC-Bibiani, was contributing to the debate on the budget and was asked to withdraw a portion of his statement and when he did shouts of Shame! Shame! Greeted him.
Mr. Alban Bagbin, the Minority Leader supported the observation by the Speaker saying that the British Parliament considered the use of the word as unparliamentary and dropped it from use in the House of Commons.
Mr. Adjetey then turned to seek the opinion of the House from the Deputy Majority Leader, Papa Owusu-Ankomah, who also said he supported the Speaker's ruling.
The Speaker warned that anybody, who would flout the order, would be referred to the Privileges Committee for sanction.
He reminded members that the ban on the use of Mobile Phones that ring in the chamber is still in force.
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Workers must benefit from tax relief - MP
Accra (Greater Accra) 16 March 2001
Mr Kwame Owusu Frimpong, the NPP Member of Parliament for Ahafo Ano North, on Thursday urged revenue agencies to educate workers on the benefits available to them under the tax relief regime announced in the 2001 budget.
He said most often those that such benefit are meant for, never enjoy them because of ignorance.
Mr Frimpong, who was contributing to the debate on the budget, said the NPP government introduced the package to give workers a relief in the payment of their wards' school fees.
He also urged workers to make use of the relief by applying for it.
Mrs Hanna Tetteh Kpodar, NDC-Awutu Senya said the National Reconstruction Levy (NRL) proposed in the budget "will operate to take with one hand, the benefits that the budget is supposed to be offering by way of corporate tax relief with the other".
She said the levy "will effectively increase corporate tax rate on banks to between 45 per cent to 47.5 per cent depending on whether or not the banks are listed on the stock exchange".
"The tax increase will only be passed on to their customers and as such impact negatively on the businesses we wish to promote in this golden age of business," she said.
Mrs. Kpodar said it would have been expected that the NPP being in opposition for eight years could have produced a better- focused budget now that it is in government.
"The budget lacks any new directions and initiatives," she said.
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