#FixTheCountry organisers disappointed after protestors were denied access to parliament

Organisers of the #FixTheCountry protest against aspects of the 2022 budget have said they are disappointed in the Police for not allowing all the protestors entry into the premises of Parliament.

The protestors were stopped by the Police at the entrance, and only five of them were allowed entry into the premises to present their petition to the House, which did not take place.

They had started the protest march from the Tema Station near the Hockey Pitch in Accra, with a plan to climax it with a petition to Parliament.

In an interview with Citi News, one of the leaders, Ernesto Yeboah, claimed that the police had earlier agreed that they would be granted entry into parliament once they were not more than 500.

“We had a firm agreement with Ghana police that if we are able to mobilise less than 500, we would be allowed into the forecourt to participate in the voting process, and we have done just that.”

According to Mr. Yeboah, they were denied entry because of an ongoing funeral at the forecourt of Parliament.

“We are not here for the funeral. Under no circumstances do we constitute a threat to those in this funeral. We are simply here to engage our Members of Parliament,” he said.

Why the protest

According to the protestors, aspects of the 2022 budget on taxation are a hindrance to the progress of Ghanaians.

Some of them cited the Electronic Transaction Levy of 1.75% as an example of taxes that will hurt the economy and bring more hardship to Ghanaians.

The protestors say they are displeased with some proposals in the yet-to-be-approved budget and want those aspects rejected by Parliament.