This Parliament will go down as one of the worst in history - Kwame Pianim

Renowned economist, Kwame Pianim has criticized the 8th Parliament for its lack of due diligence in passing three new taxes.

In an interview on JoyNews’ Newsfile, Mr Pianim stated that this Parliament will go down in history as one of the worst, as they have failed to ask the relevant questions before passing all the borrowing bills that have led to the country’s economic disaster.

“This Parliament is going to go down in history as one of the worst Parliament we’ve [Ghana] has ever had,” he stated.

He noted that the government is more interested in procurement, as the more projects the country has, the more opportunities for people to make money.

As an example, he mentioned the COCOBOD project, where the legislators are not even considering how bankrupt they have put the organization, and yet are still thinking about building a new headquarters.

Mr Pianim urged President Akufo-Addo not to agree to the three new revenue measures.

Three revenue measures were passed on April 1, 2021, in an attempt to generate approximately $4 billion in internal revenue to complete the processes to secure a $3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.

Businesses, traders associations, and some Ghanaians have been agitated about the passing of these new measures, claiming that it will lead to the collapse and relocation of businesses in the country.

Mr Pianim believes that it is because the bill was not thoroughly thought out by Parliament, as they should have consulted their people and asked questions before passing it.

He concluded by saying that the president’s last hope is to say thank you to Parliament, but not sign the bill as it is not good.

“We expect parliamentarians to consult their people, think about it and ask questions. They obviously don’t they just pass them so our last hope is for the President to say thank you Parliament I will not sign this bill because it is not good,” he said.

JNA/BB