Given the economic situation in the country, Economist Peter Tekper has expressed agreement with the government’s decision to depart from the usual template with regard to the presentation of the State of The Nation Address (SONA) but rather focus on the economy.
According to Mr Tekpker, the President should have been plain and specifically stated the amount of money borrowed as well as its disbursement for the clarity of all Ghanaians.
President Akufo Addo in his latest SONA mentioned reasons for the country’s current economic turmoil.
Commenting on the Covid-19 budget, Mr Tekper said, the issue of the covid expenditure will not be put to rest until the details demanded are provided.
He, however, lauded the government for improving revenue generation through digitalization.
” Questions indeed could be answered with regards to the Covid-19 expenditure because we receive enough and we were able to even use some to support the budget. That should tell you that a lot of money, over 20 billion has been received.
Together with all this we still find ourselves in this situation, then it is fair to ask further questions about this expenditure.
But one thing that stands out with regards to revenue generation which has been a very topical issue over the past years has been government revenue generation drive, and for government to increase revenue generation, especially in the E-VAT.
If you look at what he has said that 19 tax-paying companies on board in the E-VAT system reveal a total amount from 2 Hundred and 23 million in 2021 to 7 Hundred and 20 million as of November 2022, and also the sales of 2Hunderd Million from 2hunderd and 84Million to 1 billion. I think that this is a success story that needs to be applauded, ” Mr Peter Tekper said.
