Honourable Alexander Kwadwo Agyare, Member of Parliament for Kade Constituency in the Eastern Region, has stated that if Ghana returns to the International Monetary Fund for financial assistance to boost the economy, the country will be in jeopardy.
According to him, Ghana may be obliged to halt public sector hiring, salary increases, and the contentious lesbian, homosexual, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) issue may be a condition for receiving financial aid from European countries.
Honourable Alexander Kwadwo Agyare, speaking at a public awareness campaign in Asamankese on the contentious Electronic levy, said that if the Electronic charge is approved by Parliament and implemented, Ghana will be able to move forward and meet promises made in the 2022 budget.
Ghana sought a $918 million loan from the IMF in early 2015 to help stabilize the economy, which was hampered by increasing account and budget deficits, rising inflation, and a sinking currency.
Despite significant fiscal austerity efforts begun in mid-2013, the fiscal deficit remained high in 2014; also, the government began to face increasing funding challenges.
However, the Kade MP stated that returning to the IMF should not be Ghana’s best option, and expressed concern over the delay in the approval of the Electronic levy to save the country’s foreign aid. The minority in Parliament has approved all items in the 2022 budget, but they are against the Electronic levy because they want the country to go for a bailout and be controlled by foreigners, according to the Kade MP.
He stated that the Electronic charge will not be mandatory for all Ghanaians, but that members of the National Democratic Congress are traveling to towns and villages to deceive Ghanaians into believing that the levy will cause hardship.
According to the MP, the 1.50 percent electronic transfer levy (e-levy) was introduced in the 2022 Budget Statement to broaden the tax net and bring in potential taxpayers from the informal sector, but only a few people will pay.
