The Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has said that the combined effects of the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine have brought untold hardship to Ghanaians.
“Once petroleum prices go up, of course, you’ll see the fares of transport going up and it also has effect on the goods that we produce in the countryside and bringing them down to the cities,” the MP for Suame told the Parliamentary correspondent of Asaase Radio Philip Asiawo.
“So, food prices are going to go up. Again, unfortunately, the COVID-19 experience and the Russian invasion of Ukraine experience; the combined effect of the two really, are going to inflict untold hardship on Ghanaians,” he said.
Introduction of new tax
Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said that the country’s debt distress levels informed the government to generate revenue domestically through new taxes.
“The government wanted to introduce a new tax because where we were heading to, we realised that the debt burden of this country was increasing. The government then decided to look inwards to see if it could mobilise resources from within other than going outside to add to the debt stock. Now, because of the difficulties of the passage of the E-Levy bill, revenue assurance was affected, and because of that, a lot of speculation entered the system,” he added.
