GRi
in Parliament 11 – 06 - 2003
Electoral
Commission to be restricted to conduct of elections
Electoral
Commission to be restricted to conduct of elections
A new bill to reflect the real
position on the issuance of a national all-purpose identity card would soon be
tabled in Parliament, a memorandum to the bill said.
The on-going debate on who
should be responsible for issuing of the National Identity cards took
centre-stage in the chamber leaving the Majority and Minority glued to
entrenched positions. While the Majority argued that an authority should be
established to build a database and issue the cards, the Minority insisted that
the Electoral Commission (EC) should have the job.
John Mahama,
NDC-Bole Bamboi said massive scare resources would go
down the drain as a result of the government's position. He said ¢400bn was
needed for the national identity cards while the Electoral Commission needed
¢100bn for a new voter's register.
The member said the EC had a
secure tenure that put its reliability and credibility beyond doubt. Papa Owusu Ankomah, Attorney-General
and Minister of Justice, said government had introduced the bill to ensure the
integrity of the electoral process.
He said the EC should be
restricted to the conduct of elections and other matters related to the conduct
of elections. The Minister said the decision on the issuance of a national
identity card was a recommendation of the recent National Economic Forum (NEF).
"It is an agenda based on a
national consensus, it is not a one sided decision. Government believes that no
price is too expensive to pay to ensure the integrity of the Electoral
Commission.
GRi…/
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They thought of it as
"killing capital formation, suffocating of the private sector, a display
of bad faith by government, among other criticisms.
The group had restated their
position when the National Reconstruction Levy (amendment) (No. 2) bill went
through the second reading in the House. The bill seeks to amend the NRL Act
2001 (Act 597) to apply the act by imposing a levy of five per cent on
Non-Banking Financial Institutions.
A report of the Committee of
Finance said it was informed that the amendment was necessary in view of the
need for the various companies, especially Non-Banking Financial Institutions
to respond to the national call for their contribution, apart from their
corporate responsibilities.
Moses Asaga,
Minority Spokesman on Finance, said Banks and other players in the private
sector should be encouraged to initiate and grow funds instead of the
Presidency.
He said the introduction of the
venture capital fund, the reason for the extension of the NRL, was a contradiction
of the philosophy of the ruling New Patriotic Party, which dwells on an
aggressive private sector development.
John Mahama,NDC-Bole-Bambio, said government had shown bad faith
by extending the duration of the NRL. According to the member, the multiplicity
of taxes and levies in the country conspire to make
"Government is quick to tax
industries but hesitant in protecting them. We remember the import tax on rice
and poultry products which never took effect." He said:"If
the private sector is making profit, why do you take money from them. After all
you are apostles of free enterprise."
Hackman Owusu
Agyeman, Minister of Interior, said the Minority as
adherents of socialism and "welfarism" were
contradicting themselves as the bill sought to take from the powerful to help
the poor. "If Capitalists like us are saying let us share the resources
and nurture the weak, you (Minority) have no business criticising us."
Yaw Osafo
Maafo, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning,
said eligible entities would not be levied if they do not make profit. He said
a study of the Non-Banking Financial sector during the 2001/2002 fiscal year
revealed that 13 of them made profit which far exceeded all the insurance companies
in the country.
"We have the justification,
the justification is there." He said. He said 25 per cent of the levy
would flow into a venture capital fund to provide interest-free equity to
teething local industries.
GRi…/
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