Connect with us

Hot!

2024 Budget: Govt to raise GH₵11bn in new taxes – Jinapor

Published

on

The Member of Parliament for Yapei-Kusawgu, John Jinapor, says the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, intends to raise an additional GH₵11 billion through the imposition of new taxes in the 2024 Budget.

“We just met the Minister of Finance at the Finance Committee and the minister indicated that he intends to raise an additional GH₵11 billion which is about 1 percent of GDP but we have told him that we think that the people have been taxed so much so it will be inappropriate to come with new taxes rather the minister should look at cost cutting,” Jinapor said.

He added “I think that it is improper and unacceptable to further come out with new taxes and increase the tax burden on Ghanaians.”

The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, is scheduled to present the government’s 2024 Annual Budget Statement and Economic Policy to Parliament on Wednesday, November 15, 2023.

Advertisement

Ahead of the presentation, there have been calls for the government to significantly reduce its expenditure to rescue the ailing economy.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dalex Finance and Leasing Company Limited, Kenneth Thompson, issued a warning last week of a looming economic downturn in 2024 if the government continues its current pattern of ever-increasing and large expenditures.

Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament for Dormaa East, Paul Twum Barimah, has hinted at the introduction of an emission tax by the government to deal with the impact of climate change, while the Member of Parliament for Daffeama Bussie Issa, Albert Sandaare, believes that the government must consider scrapping the COVID-19 levy or renaming it.

Source: Citinewsroom.com

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Hot!

Pragyia rider gets 3 months prison term for biting Police Assistant

Published

on

Participants at the event

A 24-year-old tricycle (Pragyia) rider, has been jailed three months by the Nkawie Circuit Court in the Atwima Nwabiagya South Municipality of the Ashanti Region for biting a Community Police Assistant (CPA) at Nkawie.

Abdul Aziz pleaded guilty to the charge of negligently causing harm and was convicted on his own plea.

Police Inspector Kwaku Frimpong, prosecuting told the court presided by Mr Robert Addo that, complainants in the case were officers from the Nkawie Divisional Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service.

He said on September 3, at about 8:40am, the complainants led by Chief Inspector Abedi Larbi, were on their official patrol duty to ensure safety at Nkawie township and met the convict, who was in-charge of a Pragya tricycle with registration number M-25-A-3722.

Advertisement

He explained that, after a careful inspection, it was detected that the convict was without licence and other required documents, so Alhassan Seidu, the CPA, was instructed to lead him to the office for the next action.

On their way to the office, the convict took a different direction, so the CPA directed him to take the right route to the police station, but he disobeyed and attacked the CPA, resulting in a struggle between them.

In the process the convict bit the CPA on the chest, so he shouted for help and some nearby youth rushed to the scene and helped him to arrest the convict.

In his caution statement, he admitted the offence and after further investigations he was charged and brought before the court. –GNA

Advertisement

SKIP THE QUEUE, TAP THE NEWS

You can now read the Ghanaian Times and The Spectator newspapers from the comfort of your device via TimesNewsPlus.

Join our WhatsApp Channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27

Continue Reading

Hot!

Place all 54,985 affected BECE candidates in schools and publish final outcome – NPP urges govt

Published

on

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has urged the government to place all 54,985 candidates affected by the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) placement exercise in schools and publish the final outcome.

The party says the government must ensure that the affected candidates secure actual school places rather than merely being allowed to access the self-placement portal.

In a statement signed by the Chairman of the NPP Policy Co-ordination Committee, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the party expressed concern about the situation facing the candidates.

The NPP said the government had announced that 53,887 of the affected candidates could use the self-placement system after initially being told that they had not qualified for secondary school.

Advertisement

It, however, argued that access to the portal did not guarantee that candidates would secure their preferred schools or programmes.

“Ghanaian parents and candidates will judge the resolution of the challenge by one thing only: how many of the original 54,985 are sitting in a classroom, not how many were allowed to open a website,” the statement noted.

The party said the government’s own figures showed that the country had 859,828 declared vacancies for 623,072 BECE candidates.

It explained that the main challenge was the concentration of demand in a small number of highly subscribed schools.

Advertisement

The NPP noted that 313,283 candidates selected Category A schools as their first choice, while those schools had 76,417 declared vacancies.

It therefore called on the government to explore ways to improve schools with available spaces, including providing teachers, laboratories and better programmes.

The party urged the government to use the 85 private schools participating in the Free SHS programme to absorb candidates who remained without placements.

The NPP further called for clarification of the rule and pass mark used for this year’s placement exercise, saying parents were entitled to know the standard before their children sat the examination.

Advertisement

It urged the government to take urgent action to ensure that the affected candidates were not left behind in the transition to secondary education.

By: Jacob Aggrey

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending