Membership of the TUC listening to Nana Akufo-Addo
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has indicated that his administration will feverishly work towards growing the national economy and creating jobs if given the nod in the upcoming elections.
According to Nana Akufo-Addo, his team will put in place a “systematic, focused effort to restructure Ghana’s economy, take it from just being a raw material producing economy to one that is based on value addition, industrial activity and wealth creation.”
He said if such action was not immediately pursued, Ghana would continue to languish in her current state.
Nana Akufo-Addo made this known on Monday when he interacted with the leadership of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to outline the NPP’s policies and programmes mostly aimed at solving the country’s numerous problems.
New economic model
Ghana’s 2016 growth rate is projected to be the lowest in 22 years, and it’s because of this that the NPP flagbearer has insisted Ghanaians must try a new path, a new programme and new direction.
“We are not going to generate higher living standards with our economy as it is now. We need to expand it and grow it,” Nana Addo said.
Nana Akufo-Addo stated that the cooperation between government, labour and private sector is at the heart of any successful economic policy that the NPP will promote.
“We are not just talking about the normal tripartite committees to set out a minimum wage. That’s not what we are talking about. We are looking for a much more constant, dynamic engagement, an engagement that allows us to be dealing at all times with the issues of wages, not just minimum wages, but living wages that will address issues of shared benefits from the growth we want to stimulate.”
Production-based economy
Currently, Ghana’s economy is based on taxes but Nana Addo says that would change to one that promotes production.
“The burden of taxation on our companies is unreasonable, unnecessary. It is almost punitive and a complete disincentive for both investment and production.”
To this end, the NPP flagbearer explained that duties on the importation of raw materials and manufacturing equipment, for example, would be removed.
“The rationale for this is to tax people at the end of the cycle and not at the beginning. Let the companies have the opportunity to use their monies to expand and invest, and when they do so, they will pay the corporate tax.”
Abolition of VAT on manufacturing equipment
Stating that the NPP reduced corporate tax from 35 percent in 2001 to 25 percent by 2008, he disclosed that that made companies to shy away from evading tax.
“They had more money at their disposal to build their businesses, and therefore were more comfortable to pay the lower rates of tax.
“We intend to abolish duties on the imports of raw materials and manufacturing equipment.
“We are going to abolish VAT on real estate transactions and reduce VAT for micro and small enterprises from the current 17.5 percent to the 3 percent Flat Rate VAT introduced by the NPP.
“All these are being put in place to stimulate production which will address the issue of unemployment, job losses and also for the rapid development of our economy,” he added.
Tall expenses
Nana Akufo-Addo also touched on government’s ‘huge appetite’ for expenditure, which was weighing heavily on the banking system, and also the constant resort to treasury financing, which was driving up interest rates in banks and makes it difficult for businesses to borrow and grow their businesses.
“If we are able to reduce that appetite by a much more consistent attitude towards government expenditure, cutting out as much of the waste as possible and tackling issues of corruption, then interest rates will go down,” he added.
No Strikes
Nana Akufo-Addo assured the leadership of the TUC that the plethora of strikes and difficulties that have taken place over the last eight years would be absent during his tenure as president.
By Samuel Boadi