We’ll block Akufo-Addo’s budget until Kan Dapaah explain his luxurious travels

Minority caucus in Parliament has vowed to to block funds to spend on expenditures of President Akufo-Addo until National Security Minister Kan Dapaah explain the alledged luxurious travels by the Ghaianan Leader.

According to them, every effort by the Minority led by Ranking on Foreigners Affairs Committee of Parliament Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa to get detained explanations on the matter has hit a deadlock.

Speaking at a press conference after presenting 2022 National Budget Policy Statement by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, Minority Spokesperson on Finance Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson said “We’ll block Akufo-Addo’s funds until the national Security Minister explain his recent luxurious travels”.

MoMo Levy: ‘You don’t generate revenue at expense of overtaxed public’ -Asiedu Nketia

General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has lampooned the E-Levy imposed on electronic transactions announced by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta on Wednesday, 17 November 2022 when he presented the 2022 budget to parliament.

Once the 2022 budget is approved, all electronic transactions in Ghana will attract an Electronic Transaction Levy or E-Levy, as part of moves by the government to shore up its revenue mobilisation.

It takes effect from February 2022.

Mr Ofori-Atta explained that the upsurge in the use of e-payment platforms as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been an impetus for the introduction of the levy.

As a result, Ghana recorded a total GHS500 billion from e-transactions in 2020 compared with GHS78 billion in 2016.

He said: “It is becoming clear there exists an enormous potential to increase tax revenues by bringing into the tax bracket, transactions that could be best defined as being undertaken in the informal economy.”

He noted, therefore, that the government is charging an applicable rate of 1.75% on all electronic transactions covering mobile money payments, bank transfers, merchant payments and inward remittances, which shall be borne by the sender except inward remittances, which will be borne by the recipient.

“Mr Speaker, to safeguard efforts being made to enhance financial inclusion and protect the vulnerable, all transactions that add up to GHS100 or less per day, which is approximately GHS3,000 per month, will be exempt from this levy,” he stated.

He said E-Levy proceeds will be used to support entrepreneurship, youth employment, cyber security, and digital and road infrastructure, among others.

“Mr Speaker, this new policy also comes into effect once appropriation is passed from 1st January 2022. The government will work with all industry partners to ensure that their systems and payment platforms are configured to implement the policy,” he said.

Reacting to the move, however, Mr Asiedu Nketia told journalists in parliament right after the budget was read that: “When they mentioned that they are scrapping road tolls, I said that there’s something bigger, something unpleasant that they are bringing on board”, indicating: “MoMo is now the game of the day it penetrates to the rural areas, the unbanked population; they use MoMo, so, if you are taxing that one and you’re rather cancelling road tolls whose incidence falls on vehicle owners, it means that it is not a pro-people budget at all. You don’t maximise revenue at the expense of people who are overtaxed”

Meanwhile, Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu says “Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta will go into the Guiness Book of Records as the only Finance Minister who imposed a lot taxes on Ghanaians apart from increasing Ghana’s public debt stock from GHC 120 billion to GHC 341.7 billion”.

Source: africaneditors.com