Can E-Levy stop Akufo-Addo, Ofori-Atta from misusing public funds? - Adongo asks

E-Levy bill yet to be re-laid before parliament

Ofori-Atta must stop using Data Bank to borrow for the state, Adongo

Ranking Member on Parliament's Finance Committee, Isaac Adongo, has wondered if the most talked-about E-Levy will solve Ghana's problems.

He has also questioned how the tax on all electronic transactions will stop President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo from misusing state funds by flying in chartered jets, among others.

The Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga Central, while speaking on Citi FM's Eyewitness News on Monday, February 28, 2022 further questioned how the E-Levy will prevent Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta from using his bank [Data Bank] to borrow for the state and still charge a fee for that transaction.

Isaac Adongo's comment comes on the back of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's statement that the E-Levy is in the interest of the public.

Already, some members of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) have said the implementation of the E-Levy will help solve Ghana's economic woes and fill revenue gaps.

But Isaac Adongo disagrees stating, “How can e-levy stop the President from flying in chartered jets and wasting public funds… How does the e-levy stop Ken Ofori-Atta from using Databank to borrow for the state and collect fees on account of that?,” he stated.

“If you have these people with this level of appetite for expenditure, how can GH¢6.9 billion solve our problems?...Ken must withdraw his company for us to have the confidence that we are all in the boat together but we cannot be tightening our belt and they loosing their belt,” he bemoaned.

The Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament's Finance Committee also called on government to reveal the true state of the economy in order to regain the trust of Ghanaians.

Meanwhile, the E-Levy has been reviewed downwards to 1.5% from 1.75%, although the Bill is yet to be re-laid before Parliament after its withdrawal.