The NDC parliamentarians and other Ghanaians who shot down practical solutions about rolling out the novel Electronic Transactions Levy(E-Levy), as a critical measure in helping to tackle the current challenges confronting our economy, may be looking for another theory from aliens in space about the way forward.
This is because it is no longer about Ghana and, indeed, the global community dealing with the phenomenon of rising oil prices and how that adds to the negative impact COVID-19 continues to wreak on us as an emerging economy.
Budget slash
We don’t need a sorcerer to tell us that, as a result of the impact of COVID-19, a huge chunk of the funds from our global partners, that otherwise should have come to us in grants and concessional loans, are being channelled into pandemic-inflicted programmes to clean up the ravages.
That straightaway puts a strain on developing economies, including Ghana and her neighbours in the West African sub-region. Reeling under the weight of growing debt, we are already disadvantaged finding the optimal resources to sustain our prime and strategic sectors, including education, health and energy.
Ordinarily, these should have constituted enough motivation for our developing partners in sustaining the level of support that we need to stay resilient and not slump into economic recession. But the reality is that because we are not in normal times, that is no longer the case.
Borrowing not option
As the stakes stand, and as far as the two leading parties are concerned, we have had enough of borrowing as a means to augment and maintain our infrastructure and other strategic assets in facilitating development in all sectors.
To argue therefore that citizens are already overburdened with cost of living levels and so must be spared the obligation to pay modest taxes is to allow the situation to stagnate and degenerate into irredeemable pits.
With transport owners and driver unions agitating for rise in transport fares, as well as teachers and public sector workers in general warming up to engage government over salary increases, the rational thing to do is go back to the basics in terms of obligating citizens across board to make the necessary sacrifices.
No time
Since we cannot continue digging the pit, emptying our depleting reserves to service these obligations, we must agree to find a way out. And Parliament, as the peoples’ representatives, is the lawful authority mandated to address this national contingency.
The fact that our Legislature has been discussing the E-Levy to take a decision, including voting on it, means members agree that they have a duty to relieve government of the agony of struggling for a solution which is within our capacity and mandate to handle.
If our political leaders cannot see the emergency in the dipping of the economy and the urgency to find an opportunity in the situation to manage a redemption plan, then we have a problem calling them leaders of the people.
It must get better
With the Russian-Ukraine conflict set to inflict more pain on the global community, only days after commencement, the clowning and indifference must of necessity give way to decisive effort to tackle the worry about tolerating ad nauseam the very huge economic informality we have been living with since independence.
This should not be a worry only for the President; it must awaken us all into a commitment to work together to redeem our economy. And, there is no effective way to do that than by Parliament showing the way.
We need to appreciate the fact that we now live in a troubled world in which individuals nations appear to be at their wits’ end as they tackle the economic challenges they are confronted with. The best way out for us it to take our destinies into our own hands.
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