Member of Parliament for Asawase, Muntaka Mubarak has said extreme and entrenched partisanship in parliament risks plunging Ghana into the abyss.
The former Minority Chief Whip said on the floor of parliament that it was high time MPs on either side of the aisle, worked in the country’s interest.
“We are taking so many extreme entrenched positions”, he complained, explaining: “Both those in government and those in opposition and this is not helpful at all.”
“The earlier both sides begin to realise the positions we take have an impact on the country or otherwise, the better for us.
“Let us be careful not to sink the country”, the minority lawmaker warned.
Mr Mubarak’s comments coincide with efforts by the government to rally the minority caucus to pass three revenue bills that are critical to getting Board approval from the International Monetary Fund of a $3-billion extended credit facility to bailout the country’s broken economy.
‘We’re not in a good place’ Oppong Nkrumah: ‘Getting hard currency to service import obligations significantly being threatened’
Meanwhile, Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has warned that Ghana’s already-imperiled economy will take a further tumble if the three revenue bills currently tabled before parliament are not passed.
“If we don’t do what we have to do for the country, we will have major challenges”, he noted, indicating that the bills are “a set of measures we must ensure is worth passing”.
“This is a major bridge we have to cross in closing this revenue gap and ensuring that there is more liquidity”, Mr Oppong Nkrumah told Accra-based Citi TV.
The three bills are expected to rake in GH¢4 billion per year if passed.
They include the Income Tax Amendment Act, the Excise Duty Amendment Act, and the Growth and Sustainability Act.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah said the economic situation is dire and needs urgent salvaging.
“We are not in a good place because we don’t have access to the international capital market”, he explained.