The second government town hall meeting on the proposed electronic levy has ended in Sekondi in the Western Region on Tuesday 2nd February 2022.
A government delegation led by Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta took the time to explain and answered questions on various concerns about the proposal.
Addressing the gathering, Mr Ofori Atta called on Ghanaians to join hands in becoming “masters of our own destiny” by helping Government close the revenue gap in the annual budgets.
Government has proposed an electronic levy of 1.75% of transfers to help reduce the country’s debt and deficit while enabling it to fund the growing demands of the Ghanaian people.
The e-levy has become the subject of public debate following the Minority NDCs efforts to disapprove of it in parliament. But Government officials who have been touring the country for town hall meetings organized by the Ministry of Information say it is the way to raise revenue to help develop infrastructure, jobs and social interventions.
The finance minister argued that the time has come for Ghanaians to step up our contribution towards paying for the demands we make. He explained that as a sovereign country, it is important for Ghana to be the master of its own destiny by mobilizing more local resources to pay for the things we demand.
He said the days when Ghana looked to international partners to bail us out or fund our development agenda are over. “We are the ones who have to mobilize our own resources to fund the development we want. Our sovereignty and dignity require that we look inward and see how to pay up and make the Ghanaian vision a reality.” He said.
IMF
Meanwhile, Hon Andrew Mercer, MP for Sekondi and Deputy Minister for Energy responding to calls that government should forget the revenue effort and instead go the IMF for a bailout, said an IMF bailout is an additional loan that will further deepen Ghana’s debt challenges and at the same time add restrictions to Government spending in critical sectors of the economy.
He said the IMF bailout proposal being touted is not the answer to Ghana’s challenges. He called on Ghanaians to support the e-levy in order to make the dreams of the people of Ghana a reality.
Other officials who spoke at the town hall include the Western Regional Minister Hon Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, Central Regional Minister Hon Justina Marigold Assan and the Minister for Information Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.
Source: Peacefmonline.com
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. |
1. In Ontario, Canada. There's a provincial tax called (Hamonous) and it's 13% that is added to everything you buy from the shop. Suppose you see a pair of shoes that is priced at $100, you'd pay additional 13% on it so you'd end up paying for $113 at the cashier. Ghanaians complain too much but expect so much... Even if you go to the bank and exchange money from Canadian dollars to the US dollars, you'd be taxed 7% SO 1.75% IS A DROP IN THE OCEAN AND TELL GHANAIANS NOT TO THING OF COMING TO NORTH AMERICA BECAUSE TAXES IS WHAT MAKE THIS COUNTRY WORKED USA AND CANADA DO NOT BORROW TO PROVIDE FOR THEIR CITIZENS BUT RATHER THE CITIZENS PAY FOR THEIR DEVELOPMENT NO FREE LUNCH ANY WHERE IN THE WORLD LAZY GHANAIANS THE FREE DAYS ARE OVER LOOSERS. 2.