The President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo and his government has had the backing overlord of the Ashanti Kingdom, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II as he throws his weight behind the e-levy.
The president shared a post that quoted the king’s opinion on the tax. The overlord stressed the need for Ghanaians to pay the tax.
“I do not know of any form of taxes that is less painful than others. So, at last, government, by all means, would have to raise taxes to meet our needs and if we are good citizens, we will pay our taxes.”
Asantehene joined the others who believe that taxes are necessary for development, therefore they welcome the e-levy.
The Asantehene was speaking at the launch of the Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Commemorative Gold Coin. The event took place on Sunday, December 12, 2021.
He said that “We have been fortunate in our political journey to have moved on from a period of one political party dominating everything. Today, at least the two main political parties have all been in government. If we are honest, we will agree that there is no perfect government and there will never be as long as we have different points of view.”
“We elect people to represent us to make sure there is some equilibrium in what governments do. It is to our good that our representatives in Parliament subject the national budget to the most rigorous scrutiny and to call for changes.” Otumfuo Osei Tutu added.
“Government must also have the humility to acknowledge and embrace the useful inputs from all sources. But our representatives need to bear in mind that it is not their role to either determine policy or to frustrate the executive from performing their legitimate duties.”
The introduction of the electronic levy by the Minister of Finance has brought about the conflict in Parliament. While the majority caucus is pushing for it, the minority is pulling it away. And to them, they believe they are truly representing the ordinary Ghanaian. Thus, their rejection is the very choice Ghanaians are crying for.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori Ata has said that it’s coming on. Both caucuses in Parliament have assured the citizens that they will reach a consensus to approve the budget.