We are making impact with ‘Occupy Parliament’ protest on E-levy – Bernard Monarh

Convener of Justice 4 Ghana, Bernard Monarh says the group’s ongoing protest to pile pressure on Members of Parliament to reject the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-levy) is making an impact.

According to him, this can be affirmed through the international recognition the protest has gained since many people have tried to find out from Parliament the cause of the picketing.

Speaking on Top Story on Thursday, the political activist noted that the police presence at the main entrance of Parliament and the changes in the entry points for MPs indicates the impact of the protest.

He said that another essence of the picketing is to create public awareness on the dangers of the levy which he reiterated will bring hardship to Ghanaians.

“For the fact that this thing has gone international and people are calling to find out whatever is happening in Parliament. The fact that the main entrance to Parliament has been locked and keyed, in fact chained and that people cannot have free access, MPs are diverted to go and pass through the Council of State entrance means that there is an impact we are making. Above all, we are creating public awareness of the dangers E-levy will bring if they decide to go ahead,” he stated.

The group, ‘Justice 4 Ghana’ has been picketing at Parliament since Tuesday, January 25, 2022 to mount pressure on the government to desist from passing the E-levy. They have vowed to reject the introduction of the levy.

Meanwhile, Communications Minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, is confident that the proposed Electronic Transactions Levy or E-Levy will improve the fortunes of the country.

Speaking at the government’s first town hall meeting on the proposed levy, she said the success of the Communication Services Tax (CST) makes her optimistic that the country will benefit from the levy.

“I appeal to them to cooperate with government and work with us to pass this levy as well, because ultimately, the result that we got from the Communication Services Tax, which clearly didn’t destroy the industry, will also be evident post-implementation of this levy as we all work collectively to enhance access to and use of digital platforms and working with the Ministry of Finance to ensure that digital financial services become the norm as we strive to become a cash-less society,” she told the gathering of stakeholders.