Accra, Ghana//-A Deputy Finance Minister, Dr Stephen Amoah has called for a non-partisan approach to taxation amid Ghana’s lower 14.1 per cent tax-to-GDP ratio which is lower than its structural peers in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) including Senegal, Cote D’Ivoire, and Cameroon.
He made the call for a technical workshop on the 2024 Mid-Year Budget Review for members of the Institute of Financial and Economic Journalists (IFEJ), Parliamentary Press Corps, and editors in Accra.
Dr Amoah noted that the government was trying its best to address the economic challenges faced by Ghanaians and urged all political parties in the country to cooperate with them to enable the country to earn more revenue to fund its development projects for the benefit of the people.
His call comes at the time when the country is going to the polls in December to elect new leaders (President and MPs) to steer the affairs of the country for the next four years.
Historically, Ghana’s two dominant political parties – the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have used tax issues to win elections.
Dr Amoah said: “I’ll admonish that we’re careful with NPP/NDC because depending on which one is in opposition, tax is not good. When NPP is in power tax is not good- NDC incites you, and when NDC is in power, tax is not good – NPP incites you”.
He is therefore calling for collective action and unity to build the nation, emphasising: “Without that, all these great jobs we’re doing would not yield results.”
Be Patient
Dr Amoah who is also the MP for Nhyiaeso in the Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi also appealed to Ghanaians to exercise patience as the positive economic improvements transit into their lives.
He noted that many citizens have said several times that the country’s growth in macroeconomic performance does not immediately translate into their lives.
Speaking further at the event organised by the Ministry of Finance, Dr Amoah noted that the country’s predominantly informal economy dominated by Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) responds to macroeconomic improvements, including inflation slowly.
In his words: “The government always talks about figures when it comes to improvement in the economy, but Ghanaians say inflation is not in our pockets, and it’s not that you’re lying, it’s true. You don’t feel it readily”.
According to him, the slow impact of economic growth on daily life is largely due to the nature of the Ghanaian economy whereby about 90% of businesses are SMEs.
He was quick to add that; “when, for example, the economy moves forward 10%, it takes a very slow pace to take effect”.
Dr Amoah used the occasion to assure that the government was committed to sustaining the recent economic gains chalked through the country’s ongoing $3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan-supported facility.
SME Growth and Opportunity
He highlighted the government’s efforts to provide financial and technical support to targeted businesses through the GHS8.2 billion SME Growth and Opportunity (GO) initiative which aims to support impact-driven SMEs with significant financial assistance to facilitate expansion and job creation.
“SME GO initiative targets a small number of impact-driven SMEs and gives them large sums of money so that they can expand and employ more people. By doing that, we’ll inject some amount of sustainability in the job space”.
Two key directors of the Ministry of Finance—-Dr Alhassan Iddrisu, Director of, the Economic Research & Forecasting Division; Samuel Arkhurst, Director of, the Debt Management Division; as well as the Chief Revenue Officer of the ministry, Dr Akex Amankwah-Poku took the journalists through the Mid-Year Budget Review.
Presenting the 2024 Mid-Year Budget Review in Parliament on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, the Finance Minister, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam said the 2024 Budget Statement provides a framework for the Government to address the economic difficulties and challenges that arose in recent times. The measures that the Government undertook have led to stability and the economy is rebounding.
The government also continued the implementation of ongoing programmes and seeks in this Mid-Year review, to provide an update on the progress and the outlook for the rest of the year.
