Mahama’s E-Levy Comments Shot Down

Yaw Buaben Asamoa

DIRECTOR OF Communications of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Yaw Buaben Asamoah, has said comments by former President John Dramani Mahama on government’s proposed Electronic Transactions Levy, popularly known as E-Levy, are myopic.

The former President is reported to have described the E-Levy as “neither adequate nor viable”, and suggested that Ghana goes back to the IMF after holding broad consultations with stakeholders.

However, addressing a press conference at the NPP headquarters in Accra, Mr. Buaben Asamoah stated that the comments of the former President were myopic, adding that all his observations with Ghana’s economy are the very same things wrong with other economies around the world.

“Of course, he [former President Mahama] is entitled to take advantage of the situation in Parliament, but he needs to come to a quick realisation that the new normal is a far cry from what he knew and experienced before; and that old fashioned assumptions cannot work like before in the current COVID economy.

“All the things he said are wrong with our economy are the same things wrong with the entire world’s economy because of COVID, which he refuses to appreciate,” he stressed.

Sound Economy

Mr. Buaben indicated that rating agencies believe Ghana’s economy is “inherently sound” based on strong performance before and during the pandemic.

According to him, Ghana, before the pandemic, grew from 2016 to 2019 on an average of almost seven (7) per cent per annum of GDP.

“That inherent soundness,” he explained, “was what supported us to stay in focus and not drop into negative growth in the year that COVID was very high. We managed to sustain ourselves at four (4) per cent. Even as at last year, our economy had rebounded and growth was above four (4) per cent.”

Rating Agencies

Rating agencies, he added, believe that the E-Levy could be a very important part of Ghana’s economic recovery efforts.

“They [the rating agencies] are saying it in their reports that the E-Levy, when passed, could be a very important part of our recovery efforts. They have also accepted that the 20% cut by the government is important to support that process,” he noted, adding that Ghana’s economy is in a position to grow even faster than before should the issues in Parliament surrounding the E-Levy be resolved.

IMF Prescriptions

The NPP Head of Communications also threw a hit at former President Mahama for castigating the government for not having a plan for fiscal consolidation which development partners could buy into.

He said the former President said this without realising that the development community had long accepted the cost-cutting measure of 20% in government expenditure and the E-Levy as the building blocks of the country’s recovery.

“Where is the lack of a plan that he is mentioning?” Mr. Asamoah quizzed.

He continued that government was already implementing the IMF prescriptions of increasing revenue internally, cutting down waste and managing debt.

BY Nii Adjei Mensahfio

Read Full Story