Uncompleted gov’t business in Parliament due to NDC’s stubborn position – Afenyo-Markin
The Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has expressed his disappointment over his inability to secure the House’s support for three urgent government business items.
He attributed the failure to what he described as the “tough, stubborn and difficult” stance of the Minority Caucus on matters that had gone through the committees’ processes but ultimately failed to gain approval.
The uncompleted business included $350 million in tax waivers for companies operating under the One-District, One-Factory (1D1F) policy, the nomination of two Supreme Court Justices, and a $250 million World Bank facility to support the financial sector.
“Many did not understand why I was combative on a number of occasions on the floor of the House. There were those who did not know how much pressure I was under and would say, ‘You are the Majority Leader, reach out,’” Mr Afenyo-Markin said.
‘I didn’t get support’
Delivering his final statement as Majority Leader ahead of the dissolution of the current Parliament at midnight, Mr Afenyo-Markin remarked, “The Minority were such a tough, stubborn, and difficult side. You could never reach an agreement with them because they were smelling power, and rightly so.”
He added, “The number of government business items I would have loved to complete—for political expediency and perhaps for the purposes of principle—I did not get the support from my respected colleagues.”
Tax exemptions not giveaways
The Effutu MP expressed regret that Parliament could not resolve the issue of tax exemptions for companies under the 1D1F programme, a government policy aimed at supporting the private sector.
“Coming from the private sector fraternity, there was no way I viewed the initiative as a giveaway or a freebie, especially when the Majority side had compromised and agreed to exclude the raw materials component of the support to the private sector,” he said.
Despite these compromises, he noted, the Minority refused to support the exemptions, even when the list of companies was narrowed down.
For the Supreme Court nominees, Mr Afenyo-Markin lamented that although the House had vetted the two candidates, it failed to approve their appointments.
“These are citizens of our country who, through no fault of their own, have earned the call to serve at the highest court of the land,” he stated.
Looking ahead, Mr Afenyo-Markin said he was eager to hold the new government accountable. “I look forward to a new day to hold the new government’s feet to the fire, to get them to be accountable, to do what is right—not to get personal but to enrich the governance of our country,” he concluded.