Open borders to stimulate economic rebound – TUC to govt

On October 19, 2021, 3:32 PM

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has urged the government to rescind its decision on border closure to allow for the movement of humans and goods to improve economic activities that will increase revenue.

According to the TUC, it has become important for the government to immediately open the land borders because the country was losing huge sums of money as goods were being transported across the borders illegally.

The union noted that though the country’s borders were officially closed, “people are shuffling across the borders with goods, and the nation is being denied millions of cedis because they are not paying the appropriate customs duties.”

The TUC argued that opening the land borders would stop the illegal movement of people and goods and enable the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to raise more revenue to support national development.

This was contained in the TUC observations on the country’s macroeconomic management and proposals for the 2022 Budget presented to the government.

Two demonstrations were held in Elubo in the Western Region and Aflao in the Volta Region, as residents and traders called on the government to reopen the borders closed in March 2020 due to COVID-19.

The demonstrators lamented that the continued closure of the land borders, which had lasted for more than a year, was adversely affecting their livelihood.

During the Elubo demonstration, they stated that many traders have had to flee their communities to evade arrest by their creditors because business people in Elubo were unable to repay their loans due to drastically reduced patronage of goods and services coupled with expired goods.

Similarly, the demonstrators in Aflao said the closure had brought untoward hardship on them, with economic activities slowing drastically.

Still, the TUC believed that the country’s revenue shortfall required a thorough review of the extractive sector by exploring ways that mining companies could contribute a special levy for a period to finance the Covid-19 recovery.

The union noted that, so far, the anticipated sharp rebound of economic growth for 2021 has not materialised, despite the easing of the pandemic restrictions.

Accordingly, TUC said, it has become necessary for the government to explore innovative ways to address revenue shortfalls and streamline expenditures.

Tobacco and alcohol taxes

TUC indicated that it was important for the government to consider increasing the tax rates on some products and supported the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for taxes on tobacco and alcohol to be raised.

It explained that increasing the tax rate on tobacco, alcohol and drinks with high sugar would discourage the consumption of such products and help raise more revenues, aside from helping to address the health challenges these products pose to Ghanaians.

Property taxes

On the issue of property tax, the TUC proposed that the government should work with the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to collect the property taxes in an effective and efficient manner.

This is because TUC is of the opinion that property taxes was another viable solution for the revenue shortfalls.

Story By Francis Ntow