According to Dr Gideon Boako, the Vice President’s spokeswoman, Ghanaians are obligated to pay the e-levy as long as it has been passed by Parliament and signed by the President.
He remarked that whatever anyone’s feelings regarding the policy prior to its acceptance are irrelevant at this time.
He believes the most important thing is to hold the government accountable for ensuring that the Act achieves its goals.
When asked why the Vice President did not mention the idea in his speech on 3FM’s First Take with host Dzifa Bampoh, “Let me pose this question,” Dr. Boako stated on Tuesday, April 12th. “Is it standard practice, even in the corporate world, that if Media General decides to do something, a manager or a program director comes out and says, ‘At the table, this was my position, but we have taken the decision.’ Alternatively, if Media General makes a decision, you will all be bound by it.
- Due to the e-levy, traders are resorting to cash transactions – TAGG
- In just five years, aYo Ghana has racked up 7 million clients and paid out GH8.7 million in claims.
“[E-levy] is a government policy. Whatever commentary anybody passed before such policy came to effect is immaterial. Whether you sat on the table, made your views known in support or in dissent, when the decision is taken it is a collective decision and what you say is immaterial.
“Mind you, you don’t come out from cabinet meetings and send out loud your opinion and push it out, it is not done anywhere. What is important is that when government takes a decision, all actors are bound by it whether you supported it or not. So it is not in the interest of the government or the Vice President himself to come out after the cabinet has taken the decision to say that ‘I’m the one who championed the idea’, or to come out to say ‘when this was tabled I didn’t support it’, are you not a team player?”
“It is not done anywhere, is it is not ethical. So that is the principle. What is important now is that e-levy has been approved by cabinet, and passed by parliament. Today, it is part of our tax handles, we are individuals and citizens, and we may have our own reactions towards paying tax and which particular tax is in question. Once it is approved, we are duty-bound and responsibility-bound as citizens to pay.
“We need to make sure we hold government accountable to ensure that the purpose of which the tax was introduced is achieved. I think that is where we need to focus now. If you listened to the President’s State of the Nation address after e-levy was passed, he didn’t talk so much about e-levy.
“The Finance Minister in his address after e-levy was passed didn’t talk so much about e-levy because it has been passed so I don’t see why the Vice President had to rather take time and go and delve into the matter after it has been passed.”
The e-levy policy was approved by a one-sided Parliament on Tuesday March 29 after the minority staged a walkout.
President Akufo-Addo on Thursday March 31 assented to the bill into law on Thursday March 31.
