Edward Mahama supports the e-levy

Former Presidential Candidate of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Dr Edward Nasigri Mahama has expressed his support for the Electronic Transfer Levy also known as e-levy.

According to him, he prefers the government raising revenue through the e-levy than going to the IMF for support.

He indicated that he supports the government in finding solutions to the economic problem within the country than going to the IMF.

”If we solve our problems, I am for that than to go to IMF,” Dr Mahama said this on the First Take on 3FM on Thursday, May 12 when he was asked about his view on the e-levy policy.

He added “I have hope in Ghana and if Ghana does well, we will all be good,” he added.

Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta has insisted that Ghana would not go back to the IMF for support.

In his view, the IMF even knows that Ghana is completely in the right direction with regards to the internal measures and policies introduced to deal with the fundamental issues affecting the economy.

He explained that the Akufo-Addo government has put in place measures including salary cuts and others, and also programmes to deal with the fundamental issues affecting the economy.

Mr Ofori-Atta said these when he was asked whether Ghana would consider returning to the IMF, at a press conference in Accra on Thursday, May 12.

Answering the question the Minister said that “All the white folks are just interested in us coming in the IMF programme. I always wonder why.”

“We are members of the fund; there are two major points of interventions that we have from the fund. One is the advice that we get because of the phenomenal expertise that the fund has and then secondly, these programme interventions bring us some resources.

“I think, if you see from the budget that we constructed for 2022 and the subsequent announcement that we have done, clearly, the issue of Ghana having the capacity to think through the consolidation exercise exists. Also discipline itself with regards to the 20 per cent, etc, that we have shown clearly.

“We have committed to not going back to the fund because, in terms of the interventions and policy we are right there, the fund knows that we are completely in the right direction. The issue is, validating the programmes that we have put in place and then, in my view, supporting us to find alternative ways of financing or re-financing our debt, reprofiling it.”

The minister has always emphasized that Ghana would not return to the IMF for support in order to deal with the challenges that the local economy is going through at the moment.