Tema-Ghana, Feb. 23, CDA Consult – Stop the knee-jerk economic strategies, the Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL) has stated and called on the government to stay away from troubling the already depressing economy.
Mr Abraham Koomson, GFL General Secretary who made the statement explained that “The current state of the economy, the government cannot be implementing knee-jerk economic policies such as the Excise Duty Amendment Bill currently before Parliament, it is dangerous and unhealthy for the economic recovery efforts.
“Ghana is on an economic war front, our commander in chief and other lieutenants must keep a level head, but unfortunately we see traces of the government’s economic management team panicking and sometimes running around confused.
“Strategies such as Excise Duty Amendment Bill 2022 which seeks to amend the Excise Duty Act 2014 (Act 878) are another signal to the investor community that the ground is no longer fertile for doing business in Ghana”.
Mr Koomson noted that “Some manufacturers are folding up, others are considering cutting down on the number of staff or reducing production, as leaders in the labour front, we must warn the government, and appealed to Parliament to suspend discussion on the Bill for broader consultation and input from industry players”.
The GFL General Secretary stated at the Ghana News Agency Tema Industrial News Hub Boardroom Dialogue on “measures to secure the economy without sacrificing the manufacturing sector”.
He reiterated that too many taxes imposed on the importation of raw materials form part of the unstable and knee-jerk policies which are now frightening investors away from the country and subsequently crippling the manufacturing sector.
The GFL, therefore, cautioned the government and Parliament that with such huge taxations, the manufacturing industries could not produce at competitive prices.
He noted it was time the government support investors and help local companies grow instead of bombarding them with too many taxes.
Mr Koomson noted that the over-taxation of raw material importation was gradually killing the manufacturing sector and something must be done about it urgently.
He indicated that the GFL was in talks with the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) to jointly tackle the issue; adding that other stakeholders would also be contacted for their inputs on the overburdened taxes on raw materials.
The GFL General Secretary disclosed that the Federation had already written to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) for a meeting to discuss the issue among others.
He added that they have also petitioned Parliament on the taxes to ensure that the industries survived and provided the needed jobs for the large number of unemployed youth.
“If nothing is done about the Excise Duty Amendment Bill 2022 and Parliament goes ahead to pass it, the manufacturing sector will suffer, and the whole system will collapse and unemployment will continue to increase,” he added.
Mr Koomson explained that the incessant mismanagement of the economy was the reason for the various challenges confronting the economy saying the government should desist from imposing additional taxes on companies.
