The reaction of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) to the government’s directive to reverse the 50 percent benchmark value on imports effective Tuesday, January 4 is one of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Tuesday.
The Graphic reports that the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) has expressed their disappointment with the government’s directive to reverse the 50 percent benchmark value on imports effective Tuesday, January 4.
The association has warned of an increase in prices of goods if the directive takes effect tomorrow.
The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) announced the directive in a statement today (January 3), noting the reversal of the reduction of values of imports on 43 selected items.
The goods include rice, sugar, biscuits, pharmaceutical products, finished Aluminium products, toiletries, fruits juices, chocolate products, tomato paste, ceramic tiles, machinery equipment, home delivery value of vehicles, among others.
Government in 2019 introduced the benchmark policy in accordance with the World Customs Organisation’s policy of regular review of valuation database.
Under the policy, certain commodities were benchmarked to the prevailing world prices as a risk management tool to reflect the true market dynamics of these commodities.
It also considered factors such as protection of health, the environment, and security as well as protection of local industries.
The newspaper says that the Local Government Minister, Mr. Dan Kwaku Botwe, has urged Ghanaians to sacrifice and support the E-levy to achieve the desired national development and job creation opportunities.
He explained that the socio-economic problems of the country required sustainable revenue generation strategies to tackle, noting that the government has no intention to make life difficult for the people of Ghana.
“The E-Levy is a thought-through budget proposal to meet the huge demands of development,” he noted.
He said the government, therefore, needed the support and understanding of the public to realise the objectives of the E-Levy for the benefit of Ghanaians.
He refuted claims that the E-Levy was a bad policy, which would make the Government unpopular.
Mr. Botwe, who is also the Member of Parliament for Okere, said this during a mini durbar to climax the Annual Odwira Festival of the chiefs and people of Adukrom in the Okere District of the Eastern Region.
He said the government needed more revenue to meet the high demands of development, citing the huge numbers of graduates from the universities without jobs, who needed government’s intervention.
The Graphic also reports that the Ghana Police Service has announced the arrest of Flt. Sergeant Nicholas Owusu Frimpong in connection with the discharge of a firearm at A&C Mall, East Legon, on Friday, December 31, 2021.
The suspect was arrested courtesy of a collaboration between the Police and the Military Police. This followed a Police investigation into a viral video that showed a man firing several shots of a firearm at the A&C Mall in Accra.
“The suspect, Flt. Sergeant Nicholas Owusu is currently detained by the Military Police whilst investigations continue,” the Police statement said.
The man purportedly fired the firearm to welcome the New Year and the Police in its statement also cautioned the public to desist from acts that threaten public safety when celebrating.
“As we continue to make merry for the New Year, we want to urge the public to be guided in their celebrations and desist from acts that compromise public safety and order,” the Police said.
The Police had in an earlier statement offered a GH¢5,000 bounty for information leading to the arrest of the shooter.
GIK/APA