NDC’s “Yentua Demo” underway in Accra

Hundreds of people, mainly members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and other political and social groupings under the Coalition of Concerned Ghanaians (CCG) Thursday poured onto the streets of Accra in protest of the government’s proposed 1.5 per cent levy on electronic transactions.

The protest, dubbed “Yentua” is to demonstrate disapproval of the tax policy, which is before Parliament.

The demonstrators, made up of Okada Riders Association, Market Women Groups, Kayayo Association, Concerned Students Association, among others, gathered at the Obra Spot, Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Accra, around 0700 hours, clad in red for the street protest, which started at 1000 hours.

Leaders of the Coalition asserted that the proposed levy would add to the “existing hardships” Ghanaians were facing and called on the government to explore other alternatives to generate revenue and cut down on its “extravagant” expenditure.

Mr Edem Agbana, Deputy National Youth Organiser of the NDC, said: “Government do not need to tax already suffering Ghanaians to generate revenue.”

“They should rather cut down on their extravagant expenditure, which is having a heavy toll on the State’s coffers and not to exploit Ghanaians through E-levy,” he added.

Mr Samuel George Nartey, Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram Constituency, said the Minority in Parliament would continue to resist the passing of the levy.

He said the Government should consider seeking external support from the International Monetary Fund.

Mr Joshua Anum Abio, a member of the Fishermen Association, said Government should drop the levy not to burden the “suffering” public.

He also asked the Government to subsidise the price of premix fuel to aid the fishing industry.

The 1.75 per cent E-levy has generated controversy since it was announced in the 2022 Budget and has sharply divided Parliament, with the Minority vowing to vote against its passage into law.

The Government has, however, announced its intention to reduce the proposed 1.75 per cent to 1.5 per cent and re-present it before Parliament.

The levy is to allow the Government to generate revenue from electronic transactions, including mobile money.

The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has explained that the E-levy is a “deep request” from the President to create jobs, build more infrastructure to improve the general well-being of Ghanaians.

He said the current situation where only a percentage of Ghanaians paid taxes was not favourable to realising the rapid socio-economic aspirations of the country.

“The E-levy will make all Ghanaians responsible in paying taxes and reinforce their moral rights to demand for more social amenities and development,” he said at a Town Hall Meeting on the Levy, at Takoradi, last week.

The E-levy, he emphasised, would help boost education delivery, strengthen internal security, health care services, as well as other government flagship programmes, especially the “YouStart” programme.

Less than 10 per cent of Ghana’s 30.8 million population pay direct taxes.

“Only 2,364,348 are bearing the burden of the entire population as taxpayers as of August 2021,” the Finance Minister noted in his Budget Statement to Parliament on November 17, 2021.