During his address to the nation on February 7, Vice President and flagbearer for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, made some pronouncements that some schools of thought believe were hints of registering his disagreement with the government he is a part of.
Prior to Dr Bawumia’s address, there were claims that there was some sort of friction between himself and some individuals in the NPP administration, including Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta.
Political analyst, Yaw Asani Tanoh claimed in an interview on Neat FM that the Finance Minister and other individuals who one way or the other are affiliated with the Akyems had ganged up on the Vice President, immobilizing him from carrying out any meaningful initiative or making any important decision.
Now, a scrutiny of Dr Bawumia’s vision for Ghana should he be elected President after the 2024 elections has given the indication that he did not agree with all the decisions which were taken by President Akufo-Addo, giving credence to reports of a rift in the ruling government.
Bloated govt – 50 ministers
Currently, President Akufo-Addo governs the country with over 60 ministers, including their deputies. There have been several calls for a lean government to cut down government expenditure. Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Mahama, has pledged to work with 60 ministers in his next government.
To the surprise of many, Dr Bawumia has indicated that he will work with 50 ministers. It is fair to interpret that Dr Bawumia is not pleased with the number of ministers appointed by his boss, President Akufo-Addo.
“The move towards the private sector provision of many public services would create fiscal space of at least 3% of GDP.
“This represents a major paradigm shift. Additionally, an efficient system of governance will require even fewer ministers. Therefore I would have no more than 50 ministers and deputy ministers,’’ he said.
Scrap e-levy
The Electronic Transfer Levy Act, 2022, was passed by a Majority-sided Parliament with the aim of regulating and imposing a levy on all electronically transferred monies in Ghana.
This move was part of the government’s efforts to broaden the country’s tax base and increase revenue mobilization. Initially, the levy was set at 1.50% on all electronic transfers, but following criticism from the Minority in Parliament and the general public, the government revised the rate to 1 percent.
Many Ghanaians demanded that the Vice President make known his stance on the levy since he in the past, protested against taxing electronic transactions.
For over a year, Dr Bawumia was silent until February 7, 2024. Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia plans to scrap the e-levy if given the nod to become president, implying that he was never in support of its passing.
“To move towards a cashless economy however, we have to encourage the population to use electronic channels of payment. To accomplish this, there will be no taxes on digital payments under my administration. The e-levy will therefore be abolished,” he said.
Addressing the nation at the University of Professional Studies (UPSA) in Accra today, the Vice President noted that the removal of the levy will aid government’s cashless economy agenda.
Praised governor of BoG and not Ken Ofori-Atta
In his address, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia called upon Ghanaians to commend and acknowledge the efforts of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), which has faced unwarranted criticism while undertaking essential measures to stabilize the economy.
Dr. Bawumia highlighted the pivotal role played by the central bank in extending crucial financial support to the government during a critical period, preventing the economy from veering towards collapse.
“What the Bank of Ghana did was very responsible, in putting the interest of the good citizens of Ghana first”, he said.
In his speech, Dr Bawumia only mentioned Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta when he disclosed his role, that of the Finance Minister and the Bank of Ghana Governor, Dr Ernest Addison.
“So, when we assumed office in 2017, as Vice-President, I made the decision, with the blessings and support of the President, to focus on the critical but underdeveloped systems that would expand the economy, improve systems, and create jobs through digitalisation.”
“Therefore, as the Minister of Finance oversees the budget (fiscal policy) and the Governor of the central bank also focused on monetary and exchange rate policy, I focused on the complementary data and systems improvement that would ensure the ease of doing business and change the fundamentals of the economy, making it more dynamic and responsive to modern trends, and the management of it more scientific and efficient,” he said.
Scrap excessive taxes
The current NPP government has been accused of working with current tax regime that represents the most severe and punitive in the nation’s history.
Parliament on Friday night [Dec 22] approved five tax bills aimed at helping the government to rake in additional revenue to the state as well as the Appropriation Bill, 2023.
They are the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023, Excise Duty (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2023, Stamp Duty (Amendment) Bill, 2023 Emissions Levy Bill, 2023 and Exemptions (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
Later, government introduced the gambling tax of 10% on all winnings in 2023, emissions levy for engine vehicles which has motorists paying between GHC75 and GHC300. Government also announced a 15% VAT on electricity.
The last three taxes were heavily contended. Prior to his address, the Vice President had not commented on the implementation of these taxes.
Now, Dr Bawumia says he will scrap these taxes if he becomes president.
“Taxes on gambling will be scrapped under my administration. There will be no emissions tax under my administration. 15% tax on electricity will be abolished by 2025 if it’s still on our administration,” he said.
After the Vice President’s address, the Ministry of Finance noted that government has suspended the introduction of the 15% VAT on electricity.
Review NSS
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, who is also the flagbearer for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has pledged to make National Service optional if elected president.
The Scheme has been mandatory since 1973 and is being implemented by the current government. Government has had challenges paying National Service Personnel their allowances.
To address this challenge and the issue of unemployment, Vice President Bawumia says he will not make the scheme mandatory.
According to the Vice President, this will help the youth get jobs since companies will be encouraged to go to campuses for recruitment annually.
“National Service will no longer be mandatory. And students will have the option to decide whether to do national service or not,” the Vice President said.