Akufo-Addo’s govt is like a spoilt child; it needs discipline not cash – Economist
Chartered economist Bernard Oduro Takyi
Chartered economist Bernard Oduro Takyi has suggested that the Akufo-Addo government needs discipline instead of more spending as the economy of the country crumbles further.
Read full article Affectionately called B.O.T, the NDC man said the country’s debt has gone over the roof and that the government need to cut down on frivolous expenditure and focus on giving Ghanaians respite.
The government has increased budgetary allocation for the Presidency at a time President Akufo-Addo has asked Ghanaians to burden share due to the economic downturn.
Also, the government is increasing government machinery personnel by 1,570 people in 2023 while it freezes employment in the public sector.
Among the many tax increment, there has been an increase of VAT by 2.5% while an additional income tax bracket of 35 percent will be introduced from the beginning of 2023.
It is for this reason that Oduro Takyi wants the government to be disciplined and not be given much resources.
In an interview with Kwame Minkah on Dwaboase on Power FM, the economist said in Akan that, “when you give someone a whole elephant to consume and he does not get full, a chicken won’t be able to satisfy such a person.”
To him, the government had a lot of resources at its disposal when the NPP assumed power but misused them with impunity and borrowed so much that the country can no longer sustain it’s debt.
Debt to GDP is expected to be 110% by January, forcing the government to start a debt exchange programme which is costing investors now.
To sustain the debt, B.O.T wants the government to cut the number of its ministers and recover funds from persons indicted in the Auditor General’s report.
On taxes he said the VAT increment will harm consumers and swell the cost of living.
“Progressive tax system is what will help. The government must increase the base so a lot of people can pay for the government to get more revenue and not for VAT to be increeased,” he urged.
He concluded that leaders of a country that is begging the IMF for a bailout must live within their means and not be expending frivolously.
