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Zeqblog Blog of Sunday, 22 December 2024
Source: Okine Isaac
The Ghanaian Parliament’s deadlock prevented the 2025 budget from being presented for approval. The upcoming year’s budget has not been approved for the first time in the nation’s fourth republic.
In order to pay the public sector’s expenses for the three months of January, February, and March of 2025, the house was supposed to approve a mini-budget for the fiscal year that would be presented by Finance Minister Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam. However, this did not occur. What prevented the finance minister from attending? A tax exemption of $350 million.
According to reports, the minister’s inability to present the mini-budget, which would have ensured the next administration ran smoothly, was caused by a dispute over the acceptance of tax waivers that the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government was seeking, totalling approximately $350 million. The National Democratic Congress (NDC) MPs are adamantly opposed to the tax waivers, claiming that they are not in the best interests of the nation, despite the administration and New Patriotic Party (NPP) MPs wanting them granted.
The NDC MPs refused to compromise when the administration demanded that the tax waivers be approved before the mini-budget could be presented. On Friday, December 20, 2024, the House was postponed to January 2, 2025, but the finance minister failed to appear despite threats of prosecution from Minority Leader Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson. Professor E. Kofi Abotsi, a law professor and dean of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) Law School, has questioned why the government is so determined to have the tax waivers accepted.
Prof. Abotsi questioned why the adoption of the tax waivers would impede Parliament’s functioning in a post that was shared on X on Sunday, December 22, 2024. “What strategic significance do tax breaks have for corporations that should control government business and stall Parliament in the final days of an administration? He posted on X, saying, “This is puzzling & leaves questions hanging for a country sinking in debt with interest payments soon to restart.”
Under the 1D1F program, the government is requesting $350 million in tax waivers for 42 enterprises, including Santuo Oil Refinery, which is anticipated to earn $164.6 million in waivers. B5 Plus Limited, Ferro Fabrik Limited, Everpure Holdings Limited, and Miro Forestry Ghana Limited are among the other recipients.
