Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah is rallying support behind the passage of the government’s revenue measures laid before parliament for approval.
The Minister and Member of Parliament for Ofoase Ayirebi is of the opinion that the failure of parliament to pass these three revenue measures will definitely jeopardize the country’s much anticipated quick economic recovery.
The three bills are the Income Tax Amendment Bill, Excise Duty Amendment Bill, and Growth and Sustainability Amendment Bill.
Oppong Nkrumah explains that these bills when passed, will shore up the country’s revenue gap and enable the country to also broker a deal with the IMF hence thwarting any unforeseen calamity that can further befall the economy.
“If we don’t do what we have to do for the country, we will have major challenges. So, this is a set of measures we must ensure is worth passing. This is a major bridge we have to cross in closing this revenue gap and ensure that there is more liquidity”, he stressed.
“We are not in a good place because we don’t have access to the international capital market. Having hard currency to service our import obligations is significantly being threatened.”
“It is important we complete all prior actions, lock up this deal and get a shore up best from the IMF and other inflow sources and do certain broad things to ensure that the economy doesn’t crash and expand investments that will bring economic inclusion. We need to do what must be done to ensure that we cement the kind of relative stability we have had in the last four to five months and gradually begin to reverse the economic challenges we have had.”
He further appealed to the Minority in Parliament to throw their support behind the passage of these bills in order to restore the economy on the path of recovery.
“To our colleagues in the Minority, I think it is clear that we need to work together to achieve a certain objective for the country. My appeal to those in government, Minority, economic groups is that, we must ensure that these revenue bills are passed”, he added.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the three bills currently before Parliament are estimated to generate approximately GH¢4 billion per year if they are passed into law.
