How can we trust your promises if you can't get government to abolish E-levy? - Kwesi Pratt quizzes Bawumia
Kwesi Pratt Jnr, the Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper has raised concerns over the credibility of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia's campaign promises, particularly regarding the controversial E-Levy.
Pratt questioned how Ghanaians could trust Bawumia's commitment to scrapping the E-Levy if elected as president in the upcoming 2024 elections, given his current position and actions.
Speaking on a panel discussion on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana, he pointed out that Dr Bawumia, who is the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has consistently criticized the E-Levy as a nuisance tax and pledged to abolish it.
However, Pratt argued that Bawumia missed an opportunity to demonstrate his seriousness during the mid-year budget review presented by Finance Minister Dr. Amin Adam on July 23, 2024.
"Right now, one of your campaign promises is that you will scrap E-Levy. You are in governance, and the finance minister is a key supporter of Dr Mahamudu Bawumia. And Bawumia is going around the country saying he would scrap the E-Levy.
“Didn’t the mid-year review give him the opportunity to implement what he thinks is good? Because he actually believes that the E-Levy is a nuisance tax, it is not helping us, and so on, and yet in the mid-year review, you keep it there,” he said.
He emphasized that if Bawumia genuinely believed the E-Levy was harmful, he would have taken steps to remove it during the budget review.
“How is the Ghanaian electorate supposed to believe that if we vote for you and you win power, you will really keep your promises when you are maintaining the E-Levy today?
“The finance minister is the key supporter of Dr. Bawumia, who believes in the vision of Dr. Bawumia,” he added.
Pratt further questioned the unity within the current administration, implying that there might be a disconnect between President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Dr. Bawumia on this issue.
In response, Collins Adomako-Mensah, the MP for Afigya Kwabre North, another panellist, defended the administration, noting that the finance minister operates under the direction of President Akufo-Addo, not Dr. Bawumia.
He suggested that the current government's actions should not be solely attributed to Bawumia, despite his role as the Vice president.
AM/EK
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