The Member of Parliament for Builsa South has slammed President Akufo-Addo over the latter’s response to the opposition surrounding the controversial E-Levy.
It is the view of the legislator that the President lacks an understanding of the matters surrounding the E-Levy and its related matters.
President Akufo-Addo has reiterated his government will pass the controversial Electronic Transaction Levy (E-levy). despite the ”unnecessary” opposition
According to him, the government in its bid to lessen the burden on Ghanaians during the heat of the COVID-19 did some expenditure, and that has become necessary for some measures to be put in place to fill those gaps created.
“Revenues during 2020/2021 went down considerably because of the slowing down of the economic activities that came from the COVID-19. At the same time, government, in order to keep the country going, did incur some expenditures on the free water, the free electricity. These were the unavoidable expenses that government had to make,” President Akufo-Addo disclosed when addressing traditional leaders from Dzodze in the Volta region on Tuesday, 1st February 2022.
He continued “These are the efforts that we are now making which are being resisted by the opposition but we will try and close the gap. That is the reason it has become necessary for us to use these measures like this famous tax which has caused so much unnecessary disputation; nevertheless, we would continue.”
President Akufo-Addo added that despite the opposition “I am determined to persevere to make sure that we find the means to address some of the issues.”
But reacting to this, Dre. Apaak indicated that President Akufo-Addo would not have made these remarks if he had an understanding of the issues.
If you are a President and there is an ongoing issue, it is your responsibility to listen to the people when they are against a policy you have introduced. Ghanaians have rejected the E-levy. It is an unpopular policy. As a President, if you do not agree with the people, you don’t dismiss their concerns.”
Dr. Apaak stated that it is the right of Ghanaians to speak out against the attempt by the government to impose on them a killer tax meant to collapse businesses and not justified.
”Why does the President think that it is okay to disregard the concerns of Ghanaians? He is interested in hiring a private jet for 14,000 pounds per hour and flying abroad and does not want Ghanaians to talk about it. He has failed to account for it. And yet, he wants Ghanaians to pay for an outrageous tax which they have rejected because it is not justified.”
He continued: ”Ghanaians have asked you to be accountable. They want you to cut down on expenditure, but you have refused to listen. But you have decided to introduce a levy that will lead to financial exclusion and telling us that it is unnecessary to oppose the levy”.
Meanwhile, he has refuted allegations that the government has bribed the Minority to accept the levy.
”It is untrue that the government has bribed us to accept the levy. That is false. We remain opposed to the levy. We have rejected the levy, and our Minority leader Haruna Iddrisu was the one who first told Ghanaians that the government had planned to introduce an electronic levy. We have not accepted a bribe to accept the levy and nobody can bribe us to accept the levy.”
”Nobody can intimidate us. Nobody can influence us. We are resolute in our own interest, in the interest of Ghanaians, in the interest of our constituents. We will continue to vote 137 NO against this obnoxious levy,” he added.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
