Koforidua market women fume over e-levy

Some market women in the Juaben Serwaa Market in Koforidua in the Eastern region have expressed their disgust over attempt by government to introduce the electronic levy (e-levy) despite uproar by majority of Ghanaians.

According to the market women, the levy will worsen hardships and will also have concomitant effect on their businesses since they mostly make payments and transactions to their clients on the mobile money platforms.

The market woman called on government to rescind the decision to pass the e-levy bill since it will have dire economic consequences on them.

“I disagree with government on e-levy we can’t be paying charges then pay e-levy in Mobile Money . I am not going to pay.Akufo Addo should do something about it.He has chopped the state money so should find ways to pay. If he can’t rule too he should step down”

“We go for loan with interest, and when you are going to withdraw the money on Mobile money they will deduct you. How much will be left for us. Now sales have been poor, even those who buy on credit fail to pay so in fact times are hard so we begging the leaders to consider us”.

“The NDC should insist on rejecting the e-levy. We can’t pay. They should continue to press on Ghana is not for only NPP. It is for of all of us”

“We are suffering and suffocating ,when they were campaigning they said they were coming to bring relief to us but the worst is happening.All the work we are doing are by help of loan ,we pay interest ,processing fees. Premix fuel is being smuggled so fishermen don’t get catch now fish is expensive.We now dying ,the hardship is too much .The state is Killing us so we can’t pay”.some of the market women said .

Some of the market women urged government to be bold to review the Free Senior High School Policy if it is having negative economic implications .

However, for some taxi drivers at the Koforidua Taxi rank, it was a mixed reaction to the introduction of e-levy. Whilst some disagreed to the imposition of the levy , others believe the government must be allowed to introduce the levy to see if it can live up to the promise to develop Ghana with it.

Meanwhile, the New Juaben South Constituency of the Opposition National Democratic Congress ,NDC, on Thursday February 17,2022 embarked on a counter engagement with market women and taxi drivers to correct what they call deception by the Member of Parliament for New Juaben South , Micheal Okyere Baafi on the e-levy when he embarked on similar engagements this week.

They described as lies assertion that IMF may force government to cancel Free SHS if e-Levy is not accepted and Ghana runs to the Britton wood Institution.

The NDC team, told the target audience that, the Akuffo Addo led government has borrowed over Gh420 billion more than any government increasing Ghana’s debt stock to unsustainable level yet has nothing to show .They also exposed what they call unprecedented corruption and profilligacy as well as wastage of state funds on renting if private jets for! presidential travels .

The Eastern Regional Communication officer of the NDC Dallas Ampomah Williams told the media that, e-levy is obnoxious tax regime which is also direct robbery targeting pockets of Ghanaians.

“After listening to his encounter with the market women and taxi drivers, we felt the need to also engage the market women and the taxi drivers to set the record straight, and so earlier today we started at the Koforidua central market we engaged separate market women to educate them on the e-levy and to make them understand that if you take their own budget from 2017 to 2022, it is clear that so far they have spent just about 7.2 billion on the free senior high school ”

He added “we are also aware that the resource envelope that has been made available to this government is in excess of over 460 billion and so if you do a simple calculation, and deduct 7.2 billion from 460 billion ,you realise you are still left with about over 452 billion which indicate that the honourable member of parliament lied because per their own budget statement we have enough money to cater for the free senior high school for over ten years so you cannot say that just because we are unable to approve the obnoxious e-levy , the free SHS will have to collapse and so the market women were happy to listen to this important information”.

Dallas Ampomah Williams, disagreed with Pollster Ben Ephson’s assertion that ,NDC is afraid of introduction of e-levy because it will help the NPP retain power.

For me I always say pollsters like Ben Ephson the least said about him the better because he is an arm chaired pollster, he will sit in the comfort of his office , put on the air condition and decide to throw out noise without facts.
The e- levy is not about NDC, is not an NDC thing , it is a Ghanaian thing and the good people of Ghana are against and so for somebody to reduce this all important message to NDC or NPP ,it tells you the poverty of his thinking” He said