You think Haruna and Ayariga will carry propaganda to court? – Ablakwa slams Dame

Supreme Court refuses application to injunct E-Levy rollout

Minority MPs challenging passage of E-Levy law

AG says case laden with 'propaganda, conjecture and speculation'

Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Dame, has been chastised for recent comments he made about court proceedings on May 4 in the case involving three opposition lawmakers.

The three, led by Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu, were seeking an injunction on the implementation of the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-levy) but the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed their request pending hearing into the substantive case.

In an interview in his office after the judgement, Dame stated that the performance of the petitioner’s lawyer [Edudzi Tamakloe] was an ‘embarrassing spectacle’ on the day.

He also questioned the basis for the application saying that ‘you do not go to court with speculations and conjecture.’

Among the reactions his comment has attracted is that of Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament for North Tongu – who is one of the petitioners.

According to Ablakwa, Dame’s comments were condemnable and uncalled for, especially for the leader of the bar and someone who is an interested party in the case that has yet to be heard.

He is also concerned by the use of the word ‘propaganda and conjecture’ as used by the Attorney General to describe their case.

He said it was surprising that Dame will make disparaging remarks about the case given that two astute lawyers, who double as MPs, were part of the petitioners, in the case of Haruna Iddrisu, a senior to Dame at the bar for that matter.

“Look at the persons who have sent this matter to court, the Honourable Haruna Iddrisu, a senior to the AG by far, five-term MP, a former Minister for Trade and Industry, a former Minister for Communications, a former Minister for Labour Relations. You think that he will just carry propaganda to court? What is the meaning of that?

“The Honourable Mahama Ayariga, a Havard-trained lawyer, former Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, former presidential spokesperson, a four-time Member of Parliament, just wants to go and waste the time of the court with propaganda, with conjecture, with mischief?” he said on Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana programme on May 3.

“Why is the AG doing that and why is the Supreme Court giving him so much room, such a long rope to virtually bring the very respected profession into such utter disrepute? I can’t believe it,” he stressed.

The Supreme Court by a unanimous 7-0 decision on May 4 dismissed the application for an injunction against the implementation of the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy). The implementation started on May 1.

The court also ordered the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to keep accurate records of all e-levy deductions to enable a refund to payees if it is later determined that the law was passed unconstitutionally.