Pressure group, Arise Ghana has joined the call for government to rescind its decision to impose a 15 percent VAT on electricity.
In a letter dated January 1, 2024, Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta directed the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCO) to implement the VAT, with the goal of generating revenue for the COVID-19 recovery programme.
This directive by the ministry has raised several concerns from the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the implementing agencies, ECG and NEDCO.
According to ECG, there needs to be a stakeholder conversation on the law as it believes there loop holes that will cripple consumers.
In a statement released on Wednesday January 24, Arise Ghana indicated that “government’s imposition of VAT on the domestic consumption of electricity, at a time Ghanaians are faced with unprecedented economic hardships is cruel and unacceptable”.
“In the wake of the mismanagement of the country’s economy by the Bawumia-led Economic Management Team, resulting in an alarmingly high interest rate, high inflation rate, high unemployment rate, debt default, among others, the least the government can do is to fashion out policies to mitigate and ameliorate the plight of the masses and not to pile more taxes on them”, the statement added.
The group also noted that it is a sad irony that President Akufo-Addo, who was the leader of the Kume Preko Demonstration that vehemently opposed the introduction of VAT, has now turned around to increase and expand the incidence rate of VAT just to finance the creature comfort of his corrupt and wasteful government.
Arise Ghana hereby demands, that government takes immediate steps to withdraw the Minister of Finance’s directive to ECG and NEDCO to commence charging VAT on domestic consumption of electricity, failing which, we shall be compelled to engage in a series of public manifestations in collaboration with other progressives to compel the government to do the needful.
See statement below
