The Director for the Legal Directorate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Edudzi Tameklo, has said that Ghana’s financial challenges are not due to revenue shortfalls.
According to him, the situation should be blamed on wastage of revenues that accrue to the state.
Mr Tameklo said this in an interview with Roland Walker on The Big Issues on TV3 on February 5.
He was commenting on the reported withdrawal of the proposal to impose 15% VAT on residential consumers of electricity by the government.
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) and its affiliate labour unions last week announced their intention to carry out a nationwide demonstration on February 13, if the government refuses to heed to their call for the directive by the Ministry of Finance to the Electricity Company of Ghana, is not reversed.
Withdrawal of VAT on electricity: Govt is being dishonest – Edudzi Tameklo | 3News
Over the weekend, sources close to Cabinet revealed to TV3 that government has decided not to implement the proposal.
According to Mr Tameklo, “No government has gotten more taxes than the Akufo-Addo government. They have gotten more taxes from Ghanaians. Our problem is not lack of revenue; it is the pervasive corruption, the waste, and the government being extremely reckless.”
Mr Tameklo stated that the withdrawal of VAT is merely a political move ahead of the 2024 elections.
“Consistent with the dishonest character of this Bawumia/Akufo-Addo administration immediately organized labour said they were going to protest, government’s assigns and hype men decided to go on this trajectory by saying that they were going to drop it.
“Organized Labour, I want to put before you today that this government is so dishonest that the only reason why they want to drop this 15 percent ECG VAT is simply because of the election ahead and that should you make the mistake of voting for them to remain in power they will go back for this 15 % VAT. This is a government that said in the midst of Covid 19 that they were giving us free water, free electricity, immediately they got elected in 2020 they imposed Covid levy on us,” he said.
By Joselyn Kafui Nyadzi – 3FM