Majority Leader and Member of Parliament(MP) for Suame, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu has been explaining the circumstances under which the cake crafted in the words of “E-LEVY” found its way to his 65th birthday party in Kumasi last week.
In videos and pictures that have gone viral on the internet, the green cake seems to have stolen the spotlight of the Parliamentary Affairs Minister’s well attended birthday celebration, which according to him, was supposed to be a “simple family gathering”.
Social media users who have watched the videos have described the moment as “insensitive” and “lacking tact” in the present circumstances where the public is skeptical about the proposed electronic transactions levy.
But explaining the issue in an interview with Kumasi-based Angel FM, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu said he had no hand in how the cake got to his party.
According to him, “There was an official cake that was presented by my wife and then two others that were sent in as gifts; a smaller one and the other which has become the topic was sent by a businessman whom I would not mention because of his rumored affiliation to a certain political party”.
He explained that the man who sent the cake said it was in recognition of his unfettered contribution to ensuring that the controversial e-levy proposal sees the light of day.
“If I was consulted before the cake was made, I wouldn’t agree to have it in that color because green is not my favorite color; that is why the official cake had a touch of blue and white”, he explained.
To the Majority Leader, there is no justification for the fuss about the cake because he had no intention to infuriate the public with it.
The cake was met with severe backlash from social media users who described it as “crass” and “insensitive” considering the overwhelming opposition to the proposed tax which is being pushed through Parliament by the Majority side.
In response, Ranking Member on Roads, Kennedy Nyarko Osei explained that the cake was the handiwork of the Minority group.
In a Facebook post, he stated that the cake was presented by the Minority caucus “to the Majority Leader on behalf of their caucus and kept the pictures all this while and decided to release them ahead of the planned ‘Yentua Demonstration’ to ruffle the feathers of Ghanaians to get them angrier at the government.”
The Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram, Sam George in reaction also has dared the NPP Members to name the NDC legislator who allegedly gifted him an E-Levy crafted cake.
He said the onus now falls on the Majority Leader to prove the allegation by naming the NDC MP or MPs who gifted him the said cake.
According to him, “the CDD and ISODEC should be calling out the likes of the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu who at the height of Ghanaians agitation against the E-Levy celebrates his birthday with an E-levy cake. Such insensitivity! And when he’s called out for it, he says that it was somebody in the Minority”.
He further revealed that no member from the Minority side was invited to the birthday celebration so questioned why the party will go great lengths to offer him a cake.
BY Daniel Bampoe