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Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
THE NPP RESPONSE TO THE 2016 BUDGET
STATEMENT, THE 7 YEAR. RECORD OF THE NDC & THE
ALTERNATIVE VISION UNDER AN NPP GOVERNMENT
The 2016 budget that was submitted to Parliament has
apparently been
replaced by another budget because the original budget
submitted to
parliament was full of errors. This is not the hallmark of a
serious government.
Fellow Ghanaians, it is time to change this government. It
is time to build a new
globally competitive economy with the NPP under the
leadership of Nana Addo
Dankwa Akufo Addo. The immediate goal is to make Ghana the
most people
friendly and most business friendly economy in Africa.
NPP budgets will be therefore be driven by this underlying
objective.
THE ALTERNATIVE VISION AND POLICY FRAMEWORK
We recognize that economic management must move side by side
with an
institutional framework of good governance. The following
policies will be
critical in building this new economy in this regard.
1. Ghana must put in place an effective legal framework to
make sure the
politicians on all sides are discouraged from wreaking havoc
on the poor
people of Ghana for their own selfish interests. We need a
legal
framework to anchor fiscal discipline. The passage and
enforcement of a
Fiscal Responsibility Act that has bite will be important in
this regard if it
is supported by political will. A Fiscal Responsibility law
will require
governments to declare and commit to a fiscal policy that
can be
monitored. It will include fiscal rules (including rules
governing election
year spending), provisions for transparency and sanctions
(including
sanctions on the Executive). Such a law will be passed by an
NPP
government.
2. To enhance transparency, a world class Right to
Information law will be
passed
3. To enhance accountability of government for resources at
the local level
a Nana Akufo-Addo government would support the election of
DCEs at
the local level.
4. The Public Procurement Act will be reviewed to avoid
political
interference in the award of contracts, consistent with
international best
practice..
5. An independent value for money unit as exists in Chile
will be established
to ensure value for money in the award of government
contracts.
Outside of governance reforms, an NPP alternative budget
will include
the following priorities:
6. Formalization of the Ghanaian economy will be pursued as
a matter of
economic strategy to expand the tax net. The elements of
this
formalization process that will be completed in within a
year are:
i. National ID cards which this government has been unable
to
issue in 7 years after starving the NIA of funds will be
issued
through the National Identification Authority.
ii. Financial inclusion – Goal is to have 70% of the
bankable
population having bank accounts
iii. The movement from a cash based economy to an electronic
payments based economy.
iv. A Street address system.
Practically, the national ID card should also have a debit
card application that
can function in rural communities so that everyone with the
National ID card
would also have a bank account (financial inclusion). This
will also at the same
time help move Ghana to an electronic payments based
platform.
Formalization of the economy through these processes would
enhance the
collection of more revenue even with lower tax rates.
7. As expounded in our 2012 manifesto, we have very
significant
differences with this NDC with regards to the tax system. In
response to
the economic difficulties, government has resorted to
increasing taxes,
including until recently, imposing taxes on condoms and
cutlasses. These
higher taxes have served to increase the cost of doing
business in Ghana
compared with neighboring countries. A Minister of State in
response to
complaints from the business community about import duties
is reported
to have said that if they are not happy, they can import
through Togo or
other countries! This type of approach to dealing with the
business
environment is counterproductive and demonstrates a lack of
appreciation of the private sector. The fact is import
duties in Ghana are
too high and discourage production.
The NPP government will focus on providing the tax
incentives for
increasing production and generating employment. In the
process
revenue can be raised from corporate and income taxes. What
we will not
allow to happen is for the desire to generate revenue to
kill businesses
and cause unemployment. In this regard, there are tax
specific tax policies
that we will implement. These include:
o A reduction of the corporate tax rate from 25% to 20%
o Abolition of the VAT on Financial Services
o Abolition of the VAT on real estate sales
o Reduction of withholding taxes to the 2008 level is to spur
production
o Abolition of taxes on private tertiary institutions
o Eliminate the policy that requires networks to charge a
minimum
of 19 cents per minute on international calls coming into
Ghana
(under the Electronic Communication Amendment Act, 2009) and
allow the market to determine the price.
o Abolition of the special import levy of 1-2% on imports
o Removal of duties on the importation of raw materials i.e.
zero duty
o Removal of duties for the import of manufacturing
equipment and
spare parts
o Review of taxes on the aviation sector to make the airline
industry
more competitive
o Capital Gains tax will be reduced to 10%
8. An enhanced employment Tax Credit Scheme to provide
incentives for
companies employing fresh graduates.
o If the percentage of fresh graduates in the workforce is
between 1-5% the tax credit would be 40% of salaries and wages
o If the percentage of fresh graduates in the workforce is
between
above 5% the tax credit would be 60% of salaries and wages
9. In the present circumstances, an NPP government would as
a matter of
policy and urgency, significantly cut down on borrowing. The
focus of the
Gvernment would be to provide the incentives for the
private sector to
do what the public sector is trying to do.
10. We will restore the teacher and nursing training
allowances and
are still committed to our program of free senior high
school education
for all students at that level.
11. Infrastructure investment would focus on Water,
Electricity and
Toilets (WET) – It is a shame that while some countries are
trying to get
to Mars, we are struggling to have access to toilets for our
people.
12. We will increase investment in research increase grants
to
researchers in our tertiary and scientific institutions.
13. We will deepen financial sector reforms with the
objective to
establishing Ghana as a leading financial sector in Africa.-
Unfortunately,
this Government has taken us backwards in the area of
financial sector
reform.14. We would put in place a macroeconomic framework
underpinned
by fiscal discipline that would maintain exchange rate
stability. Persistent
exchange rate depreciation is bad for the economy. In this
regard there,
would be a strict enforcement of Section 40 of the Bank of
Ghana Act
(2002) by keeping a strict ratio between the currency in
circulation and
foreign exchange cover as exists in the context of a
currency board regime
as practiced by countries such as Hong Kong, Bulgaria and to
some extent
the CFA franc zone countries in Central and West Africa.
15. Government continues to be in arrears on its obligations
to
statutory funds such as the NHIS, DACF, GETFUND, Payments to
the
Disabled, etc . even though government has collected the
taxes that aremeant for these funds. We would implement a policy of
automaticity in
the transfer of revenues collected for these funds so that
arrears to these
funds do not arise.
16. In the real sector, the focus will be on agriculture as
well as
diversification of output through value addition. Our goal
is to make
agriculture a money making business and in the process
restore the pride
and prestige of our farmers. The strategy will be built
around:
i. Access of farmers to fertilizers and seedlings
ii. Access of farmers to Dams and irrigation facilities
iii. Access of farmers to Credit
iv. Access of farmers to modern technology and machinery
v. An Afram Plains Agricultural Development Authority will
be
established along with the Northern Development Authority
to drive agriculture in those regions and make them Ghana’s
bread basket. The goal is to make Ghana a net exporter of
food crops in four years.
vi. A policy of bringing an additional 500,000 tonnes of
cocoa to
the market in 10 years will be initiated by the planting of
new
trees.
vii. Accra Plains irrigation project
17. Studies have shown that the Northern regions of Ghana
have a huge
potential for mineral and oil deposits. An NPP government
would
prioritize the exploration of untapped minerals and
potential oil deposits
in the northern regions of Ghana.
18. Tema Oil Refinery has an important role to play in the
establishment of a petrochemical industry in Ghana and would
not be
allowed to collapse or reduced to a storage facility for
BDCs under an NPP
government.
19. We will establish a Zongo Development Fund to support
development activity in the Zongo communities.
20. We will establish a Fund to support the Arts and
Entertainment
industry to grow local talent and create jobs.
21. Eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy. There are too many
bureaucratic obstacles that Ghanaians encounter in many
endeavors.
Becoming a doctor or a lawyer in Ghana is more difficult
than in the USA.
Someone with 7 As and one B in English is refused admission
to Medical
school. Yet we are in a hurry to bring in Cuban doctors who
can hardly
speak English when we need help. Even top notch doctors in
America
have a hard time getting licensed to practice in Ghana.
Somehow we think
we are doing people a favour by allowing you to practice.
a. We have to make Ghana a land of opportunities rather than
a land
of obstacles. The system as it is, is a Pull Him Down
System. We
have to dismantle it. We have to crush it. The government’s
first job
is to create an enabling environment for every hardworking
Ghanaian to succeed. We will therefore undertake a review of
obstacles to progress across different sectors and take
steps to
remove them.
22. As a matter of policy, Ghana should move away from aid
dependency. For how long are we going to be beggars? Beggars
have no
respect. If we manage our resources properly, we would not
have to relyon foreign aid. We will depend on ourselves through sound
policies, fiscaldiscipline, trade and investment promotion. With sound
economicpolicies, we can do it ourselves. The current IMF program
should be
Ghana’s last.
These are just a few elements of the policy framework that
would
underpin our budgets Insha Allah from 2017. More
comprehensive
policies will be captured in the 2016 NPP Manifesto and in
subsequent
interactions with the Ghanaian people and various subsets of
the
population in the coming weeks and months.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Fellow Ghanaians,
IT IS TIME FOR CHANGE AND YOU MUST OWN THE CHANGE
CHANGE IS COMING
HOPE IS COMING
NPP IS COMING
NANA ADDO DANKWA AKUFO ADDO IS COMING
A NEW GHANAIAN ECONOMY IS COMING
TOGETHER WE CAN BUILD THE GHANA WE WILL ALL BE
PROUD OF.
GOD BLESS YOU
GOD BLESS OUR HOMELAND GHANA.
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