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Imposition of Emission Levy by govt an opportunistic decision – A Rocha Ghana
The Deputy Director of A Rocha Ghana, Daryl Bosu, has criticized the government for imposing the Emission Levy on Ghanaians, stating that the idea behind the new tax policy is ‘flawed’.
The government on February 1 introduced a new tax policy on carbon dioxide equivalent emissions on internal combustion engine vehicles.
During an interview with Umaru Sanda Amadu on Eyewitness News on Citi FM, the Deputy Director of A Rocha Ghana, hit hard at the government, accusing it of being insensitive to Ghanaians for imposing the new tax.
The environmental campaigner stated that developed countries are more careful with the kind of emission taxes they impose on their people, describing the government as ‘opportunistic’.
“We [policy makers] go out there crying for justice, but we come back home and impose the tax on the day-to-day lives of Ghanaians just because they use diesel and petrol or they use vehicles. In fairness to the people of Ghana, we are actually being dealt with unfairly by our own government and unjustly by imposing this tax.”
“We also think he [government] is opportunistic. The government is being opportunistic in the sense that even for the developed countries. They are very careful with the kind of emission taxes or levies they impose upon their people,” Mr. Bosu asserted.
He observed that governments in parts of the world impose taxes on heavily polluted sectors and do not burden all persons who drive vehicles.
“It’s very sad to see that instead of exploring other opportunities, we go for the more stringent and regressive approach to compelling our people to action to deal with emissions. The whole tax on emissions is flawed in the sense that you put categories of motorcycles and tricycles together, and then you say all other vehicles up to 3000 capacity. A new vehicle has an emission efficiency different from a very old vehicle,” he said.
He lamented the lack of consultations on the emission levy, stating, “I think we need to keep pushing and discussing just like initiatives like the road tolls and all of that, we can come to a consensus to say let’s scrap it eventually.”
Policy Lead, Climate Finance, and Energy Transition for the Institute of Climate and Environmental Governance (ICEG), Kwesi Yamoah Abaidoo, speaking on Eyewitness News, expressed concerns about the lack of commitment by the government to invest revenue that will be accrued from the Emission Levy.
Source: Citinewsroom.com
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GEXIM deepens relations with US EXIM Bank
A management team of the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) led by the Acting Chief Executive, Sylvester Mensah met with the leadership of the Export–Import Bank of the United States (US EXIM) on Wednesday April 23, 2025 in Washington DC, United States of America.
The Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM, Mr. James C. Cruse and Vice President, International Relations, Ms. Isabel Galdiz received the GEXIM delegation, which included Deputy CEO for Banking, Mr. Moses Klu Mensah and Head of International Cooperation, Mr. Jonathan Christopher Koney at the headquarters of US EXIM.
The meeting offered the GEXIM team the opportunity to share the strategic direction of the Bank in line with the resetting agenda of the President of the Republic, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama for the repositioning of the Ghanaian economy into an export-led one by providing the requisite investment to Ghanaian businesses.
Mr. James C. Cruse expressed US EXIM’s eagerness to deepen its existing relations with GEXIM and proposed the signing of a new Cooperative Framework Agreement following the expiration of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2019 to utilize US EXIM’s medium term loan guarantees to procure machinery by GEXIM for qualified Ghanaian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
Mr.Sylvester Mensah thanked the Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM for hosting the GEXIM delegation and reaffirmed the Ghanaian government’s commitment to strengthening trade and investment between Ghana and its global partners for economic transformation of Ghana with GEXIM playing a pivotal role.
The two teams will be meeting on the sidelines of the 2025 US EXIM Annual Conference on 29th and April 30, 2025 to explore possible areas of collaboration and matching Ghanaian businesses to American companies. The meeting ended with an exchange of gifts.
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Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation –Pres.Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has expressed concern over the misuse of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) for personal financial gain by individuals in leadership positions.
Speaking during a meeting with Chief Executives of specified entities under the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) on Thursday, March 13, the President directly attributed the dire state of SOEs to their leadership, accusing chief executives, management teams, and governing boards of prioritising personal enrichment over organisational efficiency.
He pointed to bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures as factors draining public funds while SOEs continue to rely on government bailouts.
“Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation by appointees. The chief executives, management, and boards of these enterprises are responsible for this situation. Some SOEs have become perennial loss-makers, draining public funds with bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures while relying on government bailouts as if entitled to them. Many of these entities are at their lowest point in the entire history of the Fourth Republic,” he said.
President Mahama further noted that many SOEs have been plagued by inefficiencies, corruption, and mismanagement, leading to consistent financial losses. He cited the 2023 State Ownership Report by the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), which highlighted systemic inefficiencies and wasteful expenditures within these entities.
He therefore reaffirmed his commitment to reforming under-performing SOEs and ensuring they serve national interests.
He warned that loss-making SOEs will no longer be tolerated and will either be merged, privatised, or closed.
“I will assess you based on your performance. If you do not align with the pace of the reset agenda, you may be asked to step aside. If that adds to the horror movie, so be it,” he added.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
