The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has been charged by the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) communications director, Richard Ahiagbah, with devising solutions for the country’s persistent teething problems.
He made fun of the NDC for not agreeing with the government’s decision to impose new taxes, like the value-added tax on electricity and the emissions levy.
The VAT on electricity has been strongly opposed by organized labor as well as the Ghana Road and Transport Union (GPRTU) and other stakeholders.
The NPP Communications Director urged the NDC to address the nation’s economic problems in an interview with Selorm Adonoo on The Big Issue on Citi FM/Citi TV, since they oppose the imposition of an emissions levy and a value-added tax on electricity.
Mr. Ahiagbah claimed that the COVID-19 pandemic was to blame for the nation’s problems and that this led to the government having to impose additional taxes on the populace.
He asserted that because of their democratic leanings, the NDC would have taxed Ghanaians far more heavily if they had been in government.
“Given our current situation and their disposition as social democrats, I wonder what the NDC will do? Their tax orientation will differ from ours.
We’ll cut back on taxes, but as a result of socialization, they’ll raise taxes. Thus, there is differentiation between them [NDC] and us [NPP]. The NPP is a liberal-conservative political organization; while we would prefer not to raise taxes, the circumstances we find ourselves in force us to act differently.
“We don’t take these medications because we’re well. These are treatable medications that our nation is taking in order to recover from the effects of the disease that we are afflicted with—in this case, COVID-19. They are not preventive medications.
He stated that the government is aware of the difficulties Ghanaians are facing and will not make matters worse by enacting onerous tax laws.
“We are aware of the challenging position that the citizens occupy. What, however, will be the NDC’s response in these circumstances, given that their preference is for taxes to fund government operations? How are they going to react? The NDC needs to inform us of their planned course of action. The government is aware of the concerns raised by the public, and the NPP will, of course, never impose this tax. We use taxes as a tool to boost production; they are the ones who impose them,” he declared.
The TUC has declared that it will not participate in the discussions regarding the electricity value-added tax.
However, Ahiagbah urged other interested parties and organized labor to accept the government’s invitation to a dialogue. He begged, “We have to give dialogue a chance. Dialogue is possible in a democracy.”
