E-levy: Godfred Dame’s Comment "Pathetic, Insulting And Dishonest"; We Shall Take Over The Streets If . . . - Okudzeto Ablakwa

NDC Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa says the party will amass its supporters to demonstrate against the already implemented E-levy if their case in court is thrown out.
 
His comment comes after the Attorney General filed a response to the Minority’s injunction to restrain the government from implementing the E-Levy policy.
 
The Attorney General, Godfred Dame, has said that parliament formed a quorum when the E-Levy policy was passed in March this year.

According to him, a total number of 266 Members of Parliament were present during the second reading of the policy.

He added that, “voting was by a voice vote and therefore allegations about the number present are immaterial.”
 
But, Mr Okudzeto Ablakwa described Mr Dame’s comments as ‘pathetic, insulting and dishonest’.
 
In a Facebook post, the lawmaker said the minority aims to stand up against the government as Article 3 of the 1992 Constitution demands, adding that should they fail in court, they will take to the streets.
 
“The only antidote for bullies and despots is to stand up and confront them as Article 3 of the 1992 Constitution demands of us. We shall stand up to them in the Supreme Court on Wednesday the 4th of May; if we strangely fail in the courts as the Majority Group Leader and other NPP officials are curiously predicting, we shall take over the streets,” he said.
 

Read below his full post on Facebook

This is the day the Akufo-Addo government is determined to show Ghanaians and the world just how lawless, undemocratic and tyrannical they are by going ahead to wickedly impose the unconstitutional E-Levy.

But they underestimate the anger and resolve of Ghanaians.

We have read the pathetic, insulting and dishonest response of the Attorney General to our case in court — he ridiculously seeks refuge in voice votes as though constitutional quorum thresholds don’t apply to voice votes. He very much knows that irrespective of the voting method in parliament— either by voice, headcount or secret ballot, the same constitutional quorum standards apply.

Or is The AG — government’s principal legal adviser, claiming to possess some supernatural powers capable of miraculously adding Adwoa Safo and Kojo Kum’s voices to a voice vote even though they were both not in the chamber of parliament present and voting? Surely, this defence and government’s infamous Neutrality Allowance will keenly compete for Ghana’s Most Ridiculous Award of the Decade.

The only antidote for bullies and despots is to stand up and confront them as Article 3 of the 1992 Constitution demands of us.

We shall stand up to them in the Supreme Court on Wednesday the 4th of May; if we strangely fail in the courts as the Majority Group Leader and other NPP officials are curiously predicting, we shall take over the streets — what Nana Akufo-Addo (as he then was) did to the Rawlings government in 1995 with his VAT kumepreko demonstrations would be considered child’s play when historical comparisons are made. Don’t you mess with our unflinching resolve as the people’s representatives to stand with the suffering masses of our country.

We refuse to be counted amongst the leaders who painfully betrayed the Ghanaian people.

Governmental lawlessness and State-sponsored vandalization of our Constitution shall be defeated!

Our fervent prayer on this Sabbath day which the Lord commands us in Exodus 20:8 to keep holy but has unfortunately been violently desecrated by iniquitous merchants of an unconstitutional E-Levy is rather simple: “May God help us resist oppressor’s rule.”