Government has held second town hall meeting on the proposed Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy) at Sekondi in the Western Region.
A government delegation led by Minister for Finance Mr Ken Ofori-Atta took time to explain and answered questions from ordinary Ghanaians on various concerns about the proposed levy.
Mr Ofori-Atta called on Ghanaians to join hands in becoming “masters of our own destiny” by helping Government close the revenue gap in the annual budgets.
Government has proposed an electronic levy of 1.75% on some selected electronic transactions to help reduce the country’s debt and deficit while enabling it fund the growing demands of the Ghanaian people.
The e-levy has become the subject of public debate following efforts by the Minority National Democratic Congress (NDC) to disapprove of it in parliament.
However, Government officials who have been touring the country for town hall meetings organised by the Ministry of Information argue it is the way to raise revenue to help develop infrastructure, jobs and social interventions.
Finance Minister Ofori-Atta stated that the time has come for Ghanaians to step up their contribution towards paying for the demands they make.
He explained that as a sovereign country, it is important for Ghana to be the master of its own destiny by mobilising more local resources to pay for the things we demand.
Mr Ofori-Atta said the days when Ghana looked to international partners for bailout or to fund development agenda are over.
“We are the ones who have to mobilize our own resources to fund the development we want. Our sovereignty and dignity require that we look inward and see how to pay up and make the Ghanaian vision a reality”, he reiterated.
IMF bailout
Meanwhile, Member of Parliament (MP) for Sekondi Mr Andrew Egyapa Mercer who is also a Deputy Minister for Energy responding to calls that government should forget the revenue effort and instead go the IMF for a bailout, said getting support from the Bretton Wood institution is an additional loan that will further deepen Ghana’s debt challenges.
IMF bailout, he added, will stop Government from spending in critical sectors of the economy.
Mr Mercer said the IMF bailout proposal being touted is not the answer to Ghana’s challenges. He called on Ghanaians to support the e-levy in order to make the dreams of the people of Ghana a reality.
Other officials who spoke at the town hall included the Western Regional Minister, Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah; Central Regional Minister Justina Marigold Assan and the Minister for Information Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.
