General News of Tuesday, 5 July 2016
Source: Myjoyonline.com
Isaac Asiamah
A Member of Parliament for Atwima Mponua is questioning government’s ability to fund the newly proposed electricity subsidy for residential users.
The subsidy is expected to cost government 300 million cedis, an amount Isaac Asiamah maintains has neither been budgeted for in the 2016 budget estimate nor the supplementary budget.
Following claims of overbilling by consumers of electricity, the president announced government will reduce the prices of electricity beginning July 2016.
The government then proceeded to introduce a new subsidy to cushion the consumers.
In line with that, the Electricity Company of Ghana on Monday revised its tariff to reflect the subsidy introduced by the government.
But the Atwima Mponua MP in an interview with Joy News’ Parliamentary Correspondent Elton John Brobbey said government’s new subsidy is unplanned, not budgeted and a political gimmick just to win votes in the November elections.
“The president is panicking knowing very well that election is just around the corner. Come November elections he is going to lose the elections so therefore let me throw dust into the eyes of Ghanaians with the subsidy.
“This president has plunged this country into total darkness for five years. For five years Ghanaians have been sleeping in darkness. He has no clue, no solution to the crisis and therefore with four months to the election they throw in another propaganda subsidy,” he said.
Isaac Asiamah said nowhere in the 2016 budget has provision been made for 300 million cedis subsidy and wondered where the president will be getting the money for to implement the new subsidy.
He said any amount expended on any project or policy in the country must be approved by Parliament.
“We deal with laws. We work according to rules. You cannot wake up and just announce an amount. The president can only spend when the Parliament has given an amount for the appropriation act,” he said.
“It is not true. It is not going to work. It is another package of propaganda the president has thrown out there,” he stated.