IMF and E-Levy not the solution to Ghana’s revenue challenges – Ken Thompson
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dalex Finance, Ken Thompson, has said neither a return to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or the implementation of the E-Levy is a panacea to the country’s revenue mobilisation challenges.
According to him, while the E-Levy in its current frame kills businesses, conditionalities to be presented to Ghana on its return to the IMF will not support the country’s development.
His assertions are contrary to popular opinions that Ghana has to return to the IMF to seek help in dealing with its unsustainable debt stock, revenue challenges and also regain market access.
“If we are not careful and push it (E-Levy) through, we are going to kill businesses because a lot people and businesses rely on electronic transactions.
“For instance our SWIFT business is dead, and I say that because when we did the analysis, we realised that the levy we were going to pay is bigger than our profit, so this tells you that in its current frame, the E-Levy kills businesses,” he remarked in an interview with Bernard Avle on the Point of View monitored by NorvanReports.
“The E-Levy I believe is being oversold and we are being made to think that it will solve all our problems including our debt challenges and this creates a credibility problem for the economy and the country, and even now the development partners see that the E-Levy is being oversold,” he added.
Touching on the need for Ghana to go to the IMF or not, Mr Thompson averred Ghana needs a credible long term debt sustainable strategy to convince development partners and creditors for fiscal support rather than going to the IMF whose conditions are unsupportive of development.
“If we can show our development partners that we can raise revenue and create fiscal space, they will understand and give us money.
“And one way of raising revenue is going after property tax with a vengeance, let’s get our courts in order and go after it, If I were the Finance Minister I will go after taxes with a vengeance.
“IMF is not the solution, we can do it, what’s our problem,” he averred.
“In the long term, we should have a credible debt sustainable strategy, then we will be fine. Because a lot of countries have their debt stock bigger than their GDP, countries like Japan and the US, but you don’t see them getting downgraded and all that is because they have a credible debt sustainable strategy.
“So for me, E-Levy and the IMF are not the solution, let’s be disciplined, focus and raise revenue and also cut expenditure, we can do it,” he added.
