According to National Democratic Congress (NDC) member Abraham Amaliba, former president John Dramani Mahama has recently spoken out about the issues confronting the nation because he does not want to inherit a damaged economy caused by the present administration.
According to Mr. Amaliba, the Akufo-Addo-led administration is leading the nation in the wrong way, which is the cause of the troubles the economy is experiencing.
He asserted that the President is simply flying around the globe on a chartered plane rather than addressing the nation about the issues and promising solutions.
On Friday, July 1, Mr. Amaliba made these remarks while participating in Mr. Mahama's economic talk from the previous day on the New Day show with Johnnie Hughes.
Among other things, Mr. Mahama stated that the e-levy was advertised as the solution to Ghana's economic woes.
He said that the Ghanaians had been informed that doing so would allow the government to borrow less.
According to his assertions and warnings to the government over the excessively aggressive income and fiscal policy objectives, the first quarter data available indicates that such targets will not be fulfilled.
He believed that this would undoubtedly lead to an even greater credibility issue for the already-struggling economy.
The much-heralded e-levy, which was forced down Ghanaians' throats, only raised a pitiful GHS 54 million for the entire month of May, which is just 11.3% of the monthly target of GHS 475 million. Since just roughly GHS 7.1 million had been collected by the first week of June, there has been little indication of progress. These statistics show that the e-levy has been a colossal failure thus far and has evolved into the mother of all annoyance taxes, and I want to restate my earlier commitment that we would remove it in the very first budget statement to be delivered under the future NDC administration.
In contrast to the 2022 budget's projection of GHS 14.6 billion in overall tax income for the first quarter of this year, he said that GHS 12.8 billion was actually received.
He clarified that this sum was insufficient to cover the debt service obligation for the same time period, which was GHS 13.9 billion.
To put it another way, the whole amount of taxes that the government collected in the first quarter of this year was less than the total interest on our debt that was paid, which was GHS 10.68 billion and amortisation that was GHS 3.3 billion. In percentage terms, the entire debt service for the first three months of this year was equivalent to 108% of all taxes gathered by the government during that time.
It is the cause of the government's inability to supply textbooks and other educational resources for our schools, as well as the explanation for the vast arrears to statutory monies like the NHIS and District Assemblies common Fund.
include GETFund. Only GHS 38 million of the GHS 1.3 billion the government budgeted for domestic contractor payments in the first quarter of this year and nothing of the GHS 285 million budgeted for clearing arrears in the first quarter of 2022 were paid, according to the 2020 presidential candidate for the National Democratic Congress (NDC).