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Front Page
ROW OVER TARIFFS – POULTRY FARMERS SUE A-G, SPEAKER
The nation’s poultry farmers have sued the Attorney-General and the Speaker of Parliament for causing them to endure unbearable competition from foreign operators in the poultry industry.
The suit was filed by Dominic Mmengayela Ayene of the Centre for Public Interest Law on behalf of the Ghana National Poultry Farmers Association (GNPFA) at the Supreme Court on April 27. They are asking for an injunction to restrain the defendants from proceeding with the implementation of Acts 686, which, in effect, set aside Act 641 which the plaintiffs contend was in their interest and whose implementation a High Court ordered to be carried out.
According to the poultry farmers, the defendants, by setting aside Act 641 and proceeding to apply Act 686, circumvented the decision of the High Court in the implementation of approved higher tariffs in the poultry industry.
They are arguing that failure or neglect to comply with the edict of the legislature is unlawful and unconstitutional.
“The purported suspension of the operation of Act 641 was, in effect, a waiver of the imposition of a tax and was, therefore, unconstitutional as it offended the “taxing and spending” power of Parliament upheld by Article 174 of the Constitution,” the plaintiffs further contend.
The GNPFA argues that after Parliament duly passed Act 641 which raised that level of tariffs on finished imported poultry from 20 per cent to 40 per cent, the minister for finance and economic planning tabled a motion before Parliament for the adoption and enactment of Customs and Excise (Duties and other Taxes) Bill, 2005.
Plaintiffs contend that the Bill was duly passed on March 18 by a vote of 98 for and 92 against as contained in the Hansard of March 18 of Parliament.
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