Former Methodist Bishop, Bosomtwe Ayensu
Members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) have descended on the former Methodist Bishop Bosomtwe Ayensu for criticising former President John Dramani Mahama by saying that the NDC government will cancel the much-talked-about Electronic Transactions Levy, in 2025 if it comes to power.
The NDC members in a series of posts on social media “insulted” the outspoken Bishop for saying Mr Mahama would not even get the opportunity to come to power to cancel the policy.
Mr Mahama last week, when addressing the NDC members on the theme ‘Ghana at the crossroads’ said the E-levy was a distortionary and burdensome tax that only forces Ghanaians to pay more while suffering.
According to him, “Unfortunately in the face of this self-inflicted economic catastrophe, this government against all sound advise has decided to introduce the E-Levy that heaps more suffering on Ghanaians”.
“A new national democratic congress government, God willing, with the votes of the sovereign people of Ghana, in 2025 will repeal the E-Levy act,” he stated.
However, Bishop Ayensu speaking to journalists at the Methodist Church’s 25th Synod held at the Mount Zion Methodist Church at Obuasi in the Ashanti Region described the pronouncement by the former president and his opposition party as backward and an attempt to sway voters.
“A leading opposition party says this government has been borrowing to fund projects. But it [the government] has been strategic this time to introduce this homegrown policy to build our nation. So if someone says he will repeal this law when he wins power then such a person will not even win power to abort it.
“If the E-levy is a good policy why will you abolish it? Such people can’t even do it because history keeps guiding us. Such comments usually end up as a political talk and deceit,” he added.
Bishop Ayensu who expressed disappointment in the three-time NDC flagbearer for making such an utterance, said it is an attempt to sway voters.
He reiterated that the predicaments the country finds itself in will take only prudent economic decisions to get out and that is what the e-levy is being taken from the citizenry to solve.
He believes strongly that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is on the right track to get the nation from the wrecks and shocks of the Covid pandemic coupled with the Russia-Ukraine war.
“So, we should all endeavour to pay so the government could use the accrued money for development,” he advised.
Bishop Bosomtwe Ayensu further called for all and sundry to help push the government’s agenda to industrialize the country under the leadership of the president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
NDC Attacks
However, the members of the NDC who weren’t happy with the comments made by the outspoken Bishop took him to the cleaners on social media by verbally attacking him personality.
A legal Team Member of NDC and an aide to former President Mahama, Edudzi Tamakloe in a post on Facebook asked “Hate and tribalist in a cassock? after sharing the story on his timeline.
Felix Ofosu Kwakye, a former Deputy Minister of Communications also described the Bishop as NPP propagandist.
In a post on his Facebook page, he said “Bosomtwi Ayensu is not only a vile NPP propagandist, he has proven himself a shallow and ignorant one at that.His reason for the claim captured in this headline is that cancelling E-Levy means there will be no money for Free SHS because VAT brings no money to government”.
“Meanwhile, his own NPP government’s 2022 budget statement projects to get GHS14.5 billion from VAT and GHS 6.5 billion from NHIL and GETFund levies which are both VAT called by other names”.
“He is to be dismissed as a charlatan who merely abused the pulpit for the NPP’s partisan gain.No substance emanates from him and he will fool nobody this time given the horrible governance his NPP has exhibited”.
BY Daniel Bampoe