Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has dismissed claims about bribery, compromise or even a barter system between his side and the Minority Caucus in Parliament.

His comment follows concerns raised by opposition NDC members about the consensus approval of Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and new levies imposed by government in the 2021 budget.

“I command persuasive skills and try to convince people. I try to get them along that you may have something but as a matter of policy, we will not support,” he said on The Probe Sunday.

These and other happenings including the voting of three ministerial nominees Hawa Koomson, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah and Dr Owusu Afriyie-Akoto heightened concerns about possible palm greasing in the house.

Some members of the NDC have had cause to complain that these approvals do not align with their interest and further expressed opposition to these developments, fueling concerns of party division.

In the case of the new taxes, the Suame MP explained that the heated disagreement on the taxing of Ghanaians came down to personal conversations with top players in the House’s NDC hierarchy devoid of financial inducements.

“In the lead up to the approval of the levies and taxes, I saw that they wanted to startle the issue so I called Ato, Adongo, Abu Jinapor and their strong persons on their committee and we went into the bolts and nuts of those levies and taxes. And eventually I was able to convince them by just talking to them."

Speaking to JoyNews, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister quashed the claims describing it as coming from persons who lack understanding about the workings of parliament.

“Because of what happened at the election of Bagbin, people seem to think that when you push them something will break and we will have their way. But when push comes to shove, you will not get it,” Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu told Emefa Apawu.