Youth activist to embark on one-man protest against Akufo-Addo over taxes

Activist Mr. Ekow Djan has decided to embark on a one-man protest against the Akufo-Addo administration over the introduction of taxes in the budget statement for the 2021 fiscal year.

In a statement, he said President Akufo-Addo has “demonstrated time and again to be an unprincipled politician. It is trite knowledge that Mr. Akufo-Addo spent over forty (40) years of his life as a political activist fighting ills in successive administrations from 1980 to 2016.

“He was known as a politician who stood against corruption, high cost of living, taxes he considered as insensitive and nuisance, power outages, high fuel prices and transport fares, attack on press freedom, insecurity et cetera.

“Thankfully, the ‘Just’ Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was elected President in 2016. Ever since he ascended to the respectable office as President of Ghana, there have been worst forms of what he campaigned against while a mere political activist.”

Below is his full statement…

ONE MAN PROTEST AGAINST THE INSENSITIVE AKUFO-ADDO ADMINISTRATION

President Akufo-Addo has demonstrated time and again to be an unprincipled politician. It is trite knowledge that Mr. Akufo-Addo spent over forty(40) years of his life as a political activist fighting ills in successive administrations from 1980 to 2016.

He was known as a politician who stood against corruption, high cost of living, taxes he considered as insensitive and nuisance, power outages, high fuel prices and transport fares, attack on press freedom, insecurity et cetera.

Thankfully, the “Just” Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was elected President in 2016. Ever since he ascended to the respectable office as President of Ghana, there have been worst forms of what he campaigned against while a mere political activist.

The Value Added Tax (VAT) he vehemently opposed in 1995 is now seeing significant upward adjustment under his tenure as President— from decoupling NHIS and GETFUND from VAT to make them standalone levies to the introduction 1% increase in NHIS Levy and 1% increase in VAT Flat rate. Today, the man who campaigned to move Ghana from Taxation to Production has introduced six(6) new taxes and levies including Sanitation (Borla tax), Gambling tax, Levies on fuel, COVID 19 health levy, etc.

In all these, the President has failed to increase salaries of government workers and denied traders effective trading environment and opportunities.

He has failed to account to the good people of Ghana for the $100 million COVID-19 relief fund sponsored by the World Bank/IMF. We’ve heard little about donations from patriotic Ghanaians made into the COVID-19 Trust Fund headed by Mrs Sophia Akufo, Former Chief Justice.

The President has failed to account for these monies to the Ghanaian people, and yet has the temerity to come to us to pay additional taxes and levies? No! This will be resisted!

President Akufo-Addo’s presidency now clears corrupt appointees of any wrongdoing but frustrates the work of anti-corruption fighters— Mr. Domelevo and Mr. Amidu are but a few anti-corruption campaigners who have been booted out of office through intimidation and harassment.

Edward Adati, Ahmed Suale, and Manasseh Azure Awini are a few pressmen who have suffered intimidation from President Akufo-Addo’s administration.

We Ghanaians are not cowards and timid but it is difficult to understand why voices of conscience who were vocal under John Mahama’s administration have all of a sudden gone into hibernation. It is clear some are hypocrites while others are scared of attacks from the government.

I, as fearless as I am, will begin a one-man protest in Accra. I shall present a petition to the President and the Speaker of Parliament.

The President must be told in the face to sit up. Parliament must endeavor to avoid approving the proposal of taxes and levies introduced by President Akufo-Addo to the House.

I shall, in the coming days, send a letter of notification to the Ghana Police Service in accordance with the Public Order Act 491, Act 1994.

ALUTA CONTINUA; VITORIA ACERTA

SGD

EKOW DJAN

ACTIVIST

0209510444

Cc: The President

Jubilee House

Accra

The Speaker

Parliament House

Accra

The Editor