Parliament must live beyond partisanship--Dr John Kumah urges Minority to support e-levy
Member of Parliament for Ejisu and Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr John Kumah has urged the minority in Parliament to live above their partisan interest and support the passage of some critical bills such as the E-levy Bill.
He said the minority’s position on the bill was stampeding the government’s ability to pursue swift fiscal consolidation and re-anchor the economy on the path of sustainable growth.
In a statement, Dr Kumah noted that Parliament may not be able to extricate and absolve itself from blame when the economy takes a nosedive due the non-passage of critical bills, including the e-levy.
“Parliament must not jettison its constitutionally mandated duties and become a tool for disrupting government business.
“The Noble House of Parliament must live beyond partisanship and above reproach. We have a sacred duty to the good people of Ghana, and we must be seen to be upholding the interest of Ghanaians at all times,” he stated.
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Benefits of e-levy
Re-emphasizing the need for Parliament to approve the e-levy, he said when passed, the e-levy would help grow the country’s tax revenue to GDP, and move it closer to its peers.
He said it would also help signal to the investor community of the Government's seriousness to growing revenue to support fiscal consolidation.
“This will complement the recently announced 20 per cent expenditure cuts and fast-track the consolidation, the return to five per cent fiscal deficit and positive primary balance.
“It will also enable the Government to provide critical investments to support entrepreneurship, youth employment, cyber security, digital and road infrastructure, among others,” he stated.
He said the benefits of the levy would be felt across the length and breadth of the country.
“Every Member of Parliament will feel the levy's impact on their constituency when it's approved. Government will apply the proceeds of the levy to their intended purpose and shall account to Ghanaians periodically.
“Already, Government has been extremely transparent on all matters relating to the levy. The least MP's can do is to support this important revenue measure by passing the bill in earnest. Delays in the passage of the bill could affect government business,” he pointed out.
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Fitch assertion
Dr Kumah noted that in June 2021, Fitch Ratings raised misgivings about the impact that the lack of a clear majority of the NPP in Parliament could have on government business.
He said while many Ghanaians were unsure of what Fitch meant at that time, it appears that Parliament's handling of government business so far was vindicating this assertion.
“Need I say that Ghana's credit rating outlook was downgraded because of this fear, among others,” he stated.
Economy picked up in 2021
The Deputy Finance Minister pointed out that the country’s economy was gradually picking up in 2021 after it was badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said the economy was picking up steam with a projected average growth of 5.3 per cent for the three-quarters of 2021.
“The sterling Q3-2021 GDP of 6.6 per cent gives us confidence that the end 2021 GDP will surpass the projected 4.4 per cent. This expected growth is much higher than the anticipated growth of 3.7 per cent forecasted for Sub-Sahara Africa for 2021.
“We saw a decline in debt accumulation from 35 per cent in 2020 to 18 percent in 2021. The depreciation of 4.09 per cent of the cedi to the dollar is still among the lowest depreciation seen in the past decade. International reserve climbed to US$9.9 billion as at 28th January 2022 from US$9.7 billion (4 months of import cover). Non-Performing Loans plummeted from 17.3 per cent in August 2021 to 15.2 per cent at end December 2021, he highlighted.
He said all of these were indications that the economy was on the right track.
He noted that this sterling 2021 performance could be hit with hiatus if Parliament continues to stampede Government's good intentions.
Impact of COVID-19
Dr Kumah said despite the swifter rebound in growth in 2021 because of the concrete measures instituted by Government on vaccination, testing, and Flexi work environment, the pandemic continued to have a debilitating effect on the economy.
He said the prudent economic management coupled with a strong commitment to fiscal consolidation played a role in withering the pandemic's impact on the economy.
“The different variety of COVID-19 virus, including the deadly delta strain and Omicron, were all detected in Ghana, with the airport as the main conduit for the virus coming to Ghana.
“Robust and stringent testing regimes at the airport helped identify and contain most cases from getting into the country,” he stated.