Passage of E-levy will hurt NPP in 2024 elections – Franklin Cudjoe

Franklin Cudjoe, IMANI Africa president

Founding President and Chief Executive Officer of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, has stated that the electoral fortunes of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) will suffer in the next election if it pushes through with the controversial E-levy – a tax which seeks to slap a 1.75% charge on all electronic transactions including mobile money.

According to him, the sentiments of Ghanaians since the announcement of the levy in the 2022 budget statement points to the fact that they are opposed to it.

In a media engagement on Monday, January 24, 2022, Franklin Cudjoe expressed concerns that no known NPP member has cautioned the government against passing the levy at its current rate of 1.75%.

He urged the government to back down on the current percentage and rather seek to reduce it as Ghanaians are more in tune with such a move.

“I do not understand why the is no single member of the NPP standing up to the executive and saying that ‘look, we all understand the is a problem the is a huge gap in the fiscal basket that needs to be filled but for God’s sake can we do some reduction of the e-ley. The debate has gone on about the rationale or otherwise of the e-levy…at this juncture, I have not seen any positive movement towards the acceptance of the e-levy either by sentiments or surveys and for me anybody who is watching the space for the NPP or for the ruling government should be bothered. People are accommodating of a reduction in the rate so if something can be done about it then we can move on” Franklin Cudjoe said on Joy News.

He added that should the government be “strong-headed” and not heed to his advice, they will be “hurt” by the 2024 elections.

“The government is being too strong-headed and I fear that there seems to be nobody in government…academics, technocrats and party foot soldiers who will stand up and say ‘look this is going to hurt us in the next election’ and its clear that the sentiments are against the ruling government. So they should back down on the standpoint ion the percentage” he stated.

The Speaker of Parliament on Thursday, December 23, 2021, also issued similar caution to the NPP warning that the passage of the bill will see them exit power in 2024.

“As you go around trying to convince Ghanaians to vote for you and your party, others with big pockets are facilitating your parties and when you win power, they get the positions, not you. So they don’t have that understanding, so there is that missing link.

“So they come to impose their ideas on you to rather take party interest first not Ghana first, and we always vote ourselves out of power, which my colleagues in the NPP are doing now. So don’t be surprised in the next election, if they don’t win. It is very clear that if this e-levy goes through, they have lost the election,” he said

Meanwhile, Parliament is expected to reconvene on Tuesday, January 25, 2022.