The Minority in Parliament has pressed on the newly-inaugurated Mahama government to scrap the controversial E-Levy and Betting taxes when presenting its first budget or earlier.
According to the minority, campaign promises to the electorates must not be seen as mere rhetoric but sacred pledges, thus must be fulfilled.
The Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin giving his opening remarks at the vetting of ministerial nominees on Monday, January 13, 2025, called on the government to fulfil this social contract with the electorate.
Speaking as the Ranking Member on the Vetting Committee, the Effutu Member of Parliament was concerned as the statements from persons linked to the government appears to be shifting the tone from scrapping to rationalising.
He said, “The NDC and President Mahama campaigned on a commitment to scrap certain taxes deemed detrimental to the economy. These taxes include the so-called e-levy and the betting tax, yet we are now hearing what appears to be a shift in tone from scrap to rationalised. Chairman, this is unacceptable.”
He continued that, “Campaign promises are not conditional. They are commitments that form the foundation of a social contract between leaders and the electorate. To appear to alter that commitment after assuming office is to betray the trust of the people.”
However, he assured the Ghanaians that his side would hold the government accountable to its promises.
“If the people were promised the abolishing of burdensome taxes, that promise must be fulfilled without equivocation or delay,” the minority leader stated, and called on the nominee for finance, if approved, to be prepared to take decisive and concrete steps to present Parliament with a comprehensive and actionable plan for removal of the set taxes without delay.
