NPP MP for Sekondi, Andrew Egyapa Mercer says he has to some extent agreed that the 2021 Budget Statement was not bold enough in dealing with issues confronting Ghana.
Speaking on TV3 he said he will to some extent agreed with Dalex Finance's Joe Jackson that the budget statement should have been bolder.
"I turn to agree to some extent with Joe that the government should have been bolder in the approach of dealing with the issues that we are confronted with at this point."
But he noted that some of the new taxes and levies introduced to help deal with the various issues facing the economy.
"But of course, you would have to look at the other side as well and strike a fine balance because you have a peculiar economy that you are managing that has a certain number of people who are essentially in the informal sector and so you are trying through the introduction of some additional taxes and levies indirect, trying to improve on the revenue side the Covid levy that has been introduced to enable you to fund critical investments and make critical investments in the health sector..."
The Director of Strategy and Business Operations at Dalex Finance, Joe Jackson said the 2021 Budget has failed to take advantage of Covid-19 to transform Ghana.
He explained that the budget statement is not bold to address the various concerns of the economy.
Joe Jackson noted that we are as broke as we were before the pandemic.
"We are as broke as we are before Covid-19, nothing has changed for me it is not the specifics it is the opportunity to take bold decisions."
Sharing his views on the budget read yesterday in parliament he said it's a lost opportunity to be bold on the part of the government
The government is proposing in the 2021 budget statement the introduction of a Covid-19 Health Levy of a one percentage point increase in the National Health Insurance Levy and a one percentage point increase in the VAT Flat Rate to support expenditures related to Covid-19.
“To provide the requisite resources to address these challenges and fund these activities, government is proposing the introduction of a Covid-19 Health Levy of a one percentage point increase in the National Health Insurance Levy and a one percentage point increase in the VAT Flat Rate to support expenditures related to Covid-19,†the budget said.