The identity of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member Parliament whose absence on Wednesday, 21 December 2022 enabled the Majority side of the house to win the vote for the approval of the Value Added Tax increment has been revealed.
The said MP’s absence led to the 136-135 vote in favour of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), which thwarted the NDC’s effort to shoot down the VAT increment.
The said individual is Madam Theresa Lardi Awuni, Member of Parliament for Okaikwei North Constituency in the Greater Accra region of Ghana.
Madam Theresa is purported to have left the shores of the country without informing Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak.
On Thursday, November 24, 2022, the Finance Minister announced in the 2023 Budget Statement that VAT has been reviewed upwards by 2.5 percent.
However the Minority vowed to shoot it down, but the Okaikwei North’s absence on Wednesday, December 21, 2022, meant there was very little the NDC side in Parliament could do to prevent the government from going ahead with the increment.
With the VAT increment now approved, Ghanaians will from 2023 pay 2.5 percent more for goods and services.
Despite their inability to vote against the VAT increment, the Minority were able to compel the government to withdraw the GHS80 million allocated in the 2023 budget for the construction of the National Cathedral.
The NDC MPs also succeeded in expunging the Special Development Initiatives Secretariat and Monitoring & Evaluation Secretariat under the Office of the President from the 2023 appropriation.
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