Speak on E-Levy, Moody's downgrade - Adaklu MP challenges Bawumia

NDC MP wants Bawumia to speak on the economy

Adaklu MP drags Bawumia over comments whiles in opposition

Government protests Moody's credit ratings downgrade

Kwame Governs Agbodza, Member of Parliament for Adaklu, has expressed surprise at the continued silence of Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia on two major economic issues that have come up in recent times.

The two are: the Electronic Transactions Levy (E-Levy) as contained in the 2022 budget and last week’s downgrading of Ghana’s credit ratings by Moody’s.

“Is this the same Dr Bawumia of 2016? [I] am yet to hear him on E-levy and the downgrade of our economy to Caa1…,” Agbodza wrote in a tweet accompanied by a short clip of Dr. Bawumia.

In the video, Bawumia, the then Vice Presidential candidate is at a party function lamenting the downgrading of Ghana’s credit rating from B Plus to B Minus.

“Fellow Ghanaians, Ghana’s sovereign credit ratings have been downgraded to B+ positive, without oil, Ghana was being rated at B+ positive under the NPP.

“We’ve now come down with oil, under the NDC and Jon Mahama to B- with a stable outlook in 2016. We’ve gone from B+ to B– with oil. In fact, international credit ratings such as Moody’s, Fitch, Standards and Poor; now have basically the same credit ratings for Ghana,” he submits.

Opponents of the government’s controversial E-levy have repeatedly called on the Vice President to speak on the issue.

The call is usually premised on the fact that he is head of the government’s Economic Management Team and also his open opposition to taxing Mobile Money transactions, which the E-levy at a certain threshold seeks to do.

It wasn’t until recently that pro-government journalist, Paul Adom-Otchere hinted that Bawumia will be speaking on the issue soon in a lecture.

Following Moody’s decision to downgrade Ghana’s credit ratings from B- to Caa1, new calls have emerged for Bawumia to address the economy. Meanwhile, the government has via a February 6, 2022, letter formally written to protest the downgrade citing a number of reasons.