President Akufo Addo has rejected calls for the government to seek help from the IMF to resuscitate Ghana’s faltering economy.
The President said Ghana can’t always depend on foreign aid to save the economy.
“Ghana cannot continue to rely on foreign handouts and loans to sustain its economy. “We need money for our economic growth, therefore we have to impose measures like the infamous [electronic transaction] tax,” he remarked during a meeting with chiefs from the Dzodze Traditional Area in the Volta Region.
The President’s remarks follow calls for Ghana to return to the IMF for financial help.
Some financial experts and even NPP members have criticized the government’s proposal to collect income via the Electronic Transaction Levy, claiming the estimated revenue would be insufficient.
Dr. Mark Assibey Yeboah, a former New Patriotic Party MP for New Juaben South and former Chair of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, has asked the government to rethink its decision not to return to the IMF due to the country’s declining earnings.
Given the dire economic concerns, he believes the government’s emphasis on enacting the E-Transaction Levy is wrong.
Regarding these ideas, the president said that “it is vital for us to do so since that is the only way these issues can be addressed.”
“I am committed to persisting until we find a solution to your problems. The government lacks funds. It is funded by the people’s taxes. President Akufo-Addo noted that is the only way it generates funds for its operations.
Source: TheBBCghana.Com
