A former Member of Parliament for New Juaben South, and a one-time Chair of the Finance Committee of Parliament, Dr. Mark Asibey Yeboah, has asked the government to go back to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
He maintains that the government’s insistence on passing the Electronic-Transaction Levy to shore up its revenue target is not right given the existential economic challenges.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration has indicated that despite Ghana’s fiscal crisis, it is not settling on returning to the IMF for financial support but will look at prioritizing domestic revenue generation through the implementation of the E-Levy.
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta believes, going to the IMF again will have dire economic implications.
Dr. Mark Asibey Yeboah said a return to the IMF as a monetary organization should not be viewed as a failure, but rather an avenue to salvage Ghana’s receding economy.
“Without a doubt, I think we should be placing a call to Washington if we haven’t really done that. We are just not going to ask for the funds just because E-levy has been passed or not. E-levy will just bring about GHS 5 million. We are in a deep hole of our tax revenue and facing difficulties, so going to the Fund will give us some support.”
“So there is nothing wrong with going to the Fund. Ghana is a member of the IMF so what is wrong going to ask for support when we are in difficulties to go and pool resources. If I was the finance minister, I will be convincing the President that it is about time we went back”.
Dr. Mark Asibey Yeboah also added that the revenue expected to be accrued from the E-levy is infinitesimal to the extent that, it will not be able to ensure the economic stability government is eyeing.
“The GHS 6.9 billion target cannot be realized. There are a lot of exemptions so, in my estimation, the maximum amount we can get from the E-levy is GHS 5 million, and that is less than a billion dollars, so I do not think that the E-levy is going to be a panacea to our revenues. Going to the IMF will ensure some stability and above all, we are going to get some GHS 3 billion”.
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