Set Kayayei up in vocational training - MP advocates

Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, Member of Parliament for South Dayi has indicated that he is expecting government to set head porters also known as ‘Kayayei’ in a meaning entrepreneurial skill or vocational training that can take them out of their social doldrums.

He described as a “disingenuous declaration” by government to scrap levies collected from head porters popularly called Kayayei in the country and he believes the tax cuts will rather encourage the practice.

According to the Member of Parliament when the previous government was in power they discouraged the social phenomenon of Kayayei and rather encouraged the girls to go to schools, or be set up in an entrepreneurial skills.

“As the alternative, we want to discourage the Kayayei activity so that the girls can go to school or can be placed in an entrepreneurial apprenticeship and acquire vocational skills to be able to lift themselves out of the social doldrums they find themselves in.” he told B&FT in an interview.

Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has listed some eight taxes that would be abolished in 2017 when he presented government's maiden budget to Parliament on Thursday.

The taxes which include duties on spare parts importation, 17.5 percent VAT on domestic tickets and Kayayei levy among others, are aimed at easing the difficulties in the economy, the Minister has said.

The tax cuts have drawn applause from sections of Ghanaians, especially from the head porters group in the Central Business District of Accra.

He also debunked the impression that the state was already levying Kayayei. “Nobody taxes Kayayei, the government does not tax Kayayei, what happens is that in all the district assemblies, they have their bye-laws, they use it to govern their operations, and as part of their activities.

The pointer is that we don’t tax them, so it will not be correct to say that you are lifting that tax, if the legislation comes to legitimize that policy direction, to direct all the MMDAs and District Assemblies not to use their bye-laws to toll the market, then the revenue base towards the IGF will also be reduced, so we must be careful,” he said.