Ranking Member on Parliament’s Economy and Development Committee, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has warned that Parliament cannot approve multi-year financial commitments without full disclosure of the details involved.

The Ofoase Ayirebi MP said the Minority opposed a request for parliamentary approval for the rollout of fiscal electronic devices because key information about the transaction was not provided.

Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express on Tuesday, Mr Oppong Nkrumah said Parliament was being asked to approve a commitment without knowing the total cost, duration, contractor involved, or the yearly impact on public finances.

“In 2018, the Akufo-Addo government passed the Taxation Fiscal Electronic Devices Act, which was supposed to roll out fiscal electronic devices at points of sale so that VAT was automated, and they want to execute it,” he said.

“But interestingly, what they did was that they came to Parliament with a request for multi-year approval. They didn’t state how much the project will cost, how many years this multi-year approval is for, who is the contractor, and what is the year-by-year fiscal impact.”

Mr Oppong Nkrumah said approving the request without those details would amount to Parliament giving the government a blank cheque.

“That was the point that we were trying to make to Mr Speaker: that if we give this approval without this information, it’s a blank cheque that has been given to the government, and no government, whether the NPP or NDC government, should be given such a blank cheque,” he said.

He stressed that the Minority was not against the fiscal electronic devices project itself but wanted Parliament to have access to the necessary information before granting approval.

“We are not opposed to the fiscal electronic devices project. We are opposed to the fact that Parliament is giving them a blank cheque on a multi-year commitment,” he stated.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah said the Majority’s position that the details would be worked out after approval was unacceptable to the Minority.

“They were of the view that after Parliament gives them that approval, then they’ll go and work out those details, and so we had no choice but let them know that we cannot support that transaction until this information is disclosed to us,” he said.

The former Information Minister also raised concerns about other tax-related transactions, including proposed VAT charges on international commerce platforms such as Netflix and Starlink.

He said taxing such services in Ghana without addressing existing tax obligations elsewhere could lead to double taxation.

“We explained to them in detail that people are already paying taxes on these products, wherever they are buying them from. These products and services. If you tax them again in the Ghanaian jurisdiction, that is double taxation,” he said.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah added that the Minority would use the Right to Information law to request documents relating to the transactions if government fails to provide them.

“We have served notice that we’re going to come under RTI rules to request for copies of whatever contracts, schedules, etc. which they have already, they are just not disclosing it to Parliament,” he said.

He further warned private sector partners involved in the fiscal electronic devices project that parliamentary approval had not been properly secured.

“We are serving notice that they don’t have parliamentary cover. What has been given them is just a blank cheque,” he said.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah insisted that Parliament had not approved any company, amount, or implementation schedule for the project.

“Parliament has not approved any company, has not approved any amount, has not approved any such schedule,” he said.

He added that proper parliamentary approval must be obtained before the transaction can proceed.