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‘Payment of taxes a necessary sacrifice to address our challenges’ – Akufo-Addo
The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has asked the citizenry to rise up to the challenge and help his government develop the country.
President Akufo-Addo says more sacrifices are needed to get the country to where it ought to be.
The President made these comments when he addressed the Summit of the Africa Finance Cooperation in Abuja, Nigeria on Thursday, May 12.
He thus stressed that the country can be developed by only Ghanaians.
He described the “paying of taxes” as a sacrifice necessary to confront Ghana’s challenges.
“All of these are the sacrifices that are required for us to make it, and we have to be prepared to do so. So let us understand that we have to rise to the challenge and do it for ourselves,” President Akufo-Addo urged.
Already, President Akufo-Addo has maintained that he will not remove the taxes, insisting it will cost the government ¢4 billion a year.
He said this during the 2022 May Day celebration on Sunday, May 1.
He said the government is currently confronted by very tight financing conditions, in the wake of inadequate domestic revenue mobilisation.
“Indeed, some of the revenues from these same taxes on petroleum products is what is used to pay some of the salaries of some of the 700,000 public sector workers on Government’s payroll.”.
“We, therefore, continue to be vulnerable to the price volatilities of the world market for petroleum products,” Mr Akufo-Addo explained.
The government on May 1 commenced the implementation of the Electronic transfer Levy (e-levy) in a bid to raise some more revenue.
The implementation of the levy was initially greeted with displeasure from the public domain with panic withdrawals hitting various mobile money vending stations due to the fact that a lot of people were withdrawing from the service.
However, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), in collaboration with the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications and other stakeholders, has heightened sensitisation on the e-levy to assuage the public’s fears and restore their confidence in the usage of the electronic wallets.
Source: Myjoyonline.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
