Following their two-day protest, which ended on Wednesday, June 29, the pressure group Arise Ghana has submitted certain requests to Parliament.
The organisation demanded "an immediate withdrawal of E.I. 144 and a halt to the land grabbing of the Achimota Forest Reserve lands" in a petition it submitted to Parliament. In order to warn President Akufo-Addo and his land speculators to keep their hands off the Achimota Forest lands, we would want to use this means. We urge that the Parliament, which speaks for the aspirations of the whole populace, promptly launch a bipartisan investigation into the issues surrounding the sale of property in the Achimota Forest. All parties involved in this investigation, including any former or current government officials, civil servants, or employees, should be in the open.
... everyone whose hands are stained by this egregious seizure of property from the Achimota Forest should be identified, shamed, and the stolen land should be recovered for the State.
"We urge that the Agyapa Royalties contract be immediately and completely cancelled since it is not in the national interest. We can't stand by and let a small group of politicians take our mining royalties for themselves and their families.
"We demand the immediate elimination of debilitating fuel taxes like the sanitation levy (also known as the "borla tax"), which is 10 pesewas on each litre of diesel and gasoline. If implemented, we think this would offer some relief to the afflicted drivers and lower Ghanaians' transportation costs.
Additionally, we call for the urgent repeal of the offensive E-levy Act, which is nothing more than the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration's callous attempt to steal the populace of their little resources.
We urge that the Ministers in charge of Finance and Jobs act pragmatically and practically to provide greater opportunities for young people in Ghana to find employment in the face of rising youth unemployment. We further demand, sir, that the government conduct a transparent, unrestricted, and unhindered investigation of the Covid-19 expenditures in light of the information provided to the Ghanaian Parliament.
The group held a protest in opposition to what they saw as deteriorating economic conditions. "No Ghanaian can deny that their current living circumstances are getting worse.
The nation is currently drowning in debt, with our debt to GDP ratio over 80%.
"As prices for products and services rise, the standard of life and the purchasing power of the average person deteriorate daily. The rate of inflation is presently over 27 percent and is still rising. The price of petroleum has grown, which has resulted in rising transportation costs for the average Ghanaian in recent years. And as you correctly know, Mr. Speaker, the price of gasoline has a ripple impact on every area of the economy.
"The Cedi's continued depreciation drives up the price of inflation while also adding to a growing public debt portfolio. Rt. Hon. Speaker, our current economic situation, which is the worst performance in the history of this Fourth Republic, has weakened our credit worthiness and sapped investor confidence in our economy, resulting in our worst-ever downgrades by reputable sovereign credit rating agencies like Moody's and Fitch. Simply put, the current Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration has done a terrible job of managing the country's finances and has left our beloved Ghana in severe financial straits.