Minority rejects tax waivers citing economic challenges but silent on Speaker Bagbin’s $1.1m Dubai medical bills — Martin Amidu

The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has been slammed for hypocrisy after rejecting tax waivers to some 42 Ghanaian companies under the One District One Factory initiative due to the country's economic problems, while silent on the huge sums allegedly spent on Speaker of Parliament's medical trips abroad.

According to former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu, the NDC cannot use the "dire need of funds because of the economic crisis" as a reason for rejecting tax waivers after it approved similar waivers in the past under both NDC and NPP governments.

In his analysis of the issue, Mr Amidu cited reports that Speaker Alban Bagbin has spent over $1.1 million on medical trips to Dubai since he assumed office.

Mr Amidu cited a report by KASSBENonline which claimed the Speaker requested an additional $50,000 during a trip to Dubai in 2022, bringing his total spending to $240,000 for that visit alone.

"The Speaker who is on his fifth trip, where he spends an average of $200,000, has already spent $1.1million,” Mr Amidu quoted the report as saying, adding “Only God knows what the speculated total amount will be today.”

He said it was hypocritical for the NDC to use the economic argument against tax waivers, when their own Speaker has spent such huge amounts of public funds on medical care abroad.

"The NDC can close its eyes to their self-confessed corrupt Speaker refusing to divulge his ailment for which the tax-payer doles out millions of cedis and foreign currency in Dubai but can use the 'dire need of funds because of the economic crisis' as a reason for rejecting the tax waivers," Mr Amidu wrote.

The former Attorney General said contrary to claims by the Speaker that his trips were due to a medical condition, there was no justification for spending over $1 million of public money on a condition that could have been treated in Ghana.

This comes after Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin on Thursday, May 30, accused the NDC caucus of been hypocritical in its rejection of tax waivers for companies under government’s One District One Factory (1D1F) policy.

The NPP caucus says the past Mahama-led NDC administration gave Meridian Port Services (MPS) alone $982million in tax waivers for a single company yet criticised $300 million meant for 42 firms over a period of five years.