- Majority caucus accuses Minority of sabotaging economic growth by opposing tax waivers.
- Majority Leader Afenyo-Markin criticizes Minority's action as double standards, citing NDC's past tax waivers.
- NDC granted $832 million tax waiver to Meridian Port Services, exceeding current requests.
- Majority urges Minority to support tax waivers for economic growth.
The Majority caucus in Parliament has accused the Minority and its leader, Dr. Ato Forson, of deliberately sabotaging Ghana’s economic growth. According to Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the Minority is persistently opposing tax waivers currently under consideration by the House, with the aim of obstructing government business and denying Ghanaians economic growth.
In 2021, the Ministry of Finance began processes to secure approximately $335 million in tax exemptions for 42 companies under the One District One Factory initiative. However, the Minority has remained resolute in its opposition to the waivers, justifying that granting the waivers amounts to giving away free money despite current economic challenges.
Addressing a press conference on May 30, 2024, Majority Leader Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin criticized the Minority’s action as an act of double standards. He pointed out that the same NDC, while in government, granted tax waivers to several firms to the tune of millions of dollars.
Afenyo-Markin accused Dr. Ato Forson of leading the charge to obstruct government business and deny citizens economic growth. He revealed that the NDC government granted tax exemption to Meridian Port Services (MPS) alone, exceeding the total value being sought by the NPP government for all 42 firms under the IDIF policy.
According to Afenyo-Markin, the erstwhile NDC regime under President John Dramani Mahama granted $832 million in tax waivers to MPS, even though the company was expected to invest just $1.5 billion into the local economy. This amount exceeds the total amount of $353 million being requested for the 42 firms combined.
Afenyo-Markin stated that in 2016, the NDC led by President John Mahama handed a tax waiver of $832 million to Meridian Port Services. He noted that the NDC government applied for a tax waiver of $982 million for the port project, but the Minority then shut it down to $832 million, saving the government and people of Ghana $100 million.
Afenyo-Markin chastised the NDC government for engaging in worse dealings during their term of office but have turned around to obstruct the current NPP administration by opposing the tax waiver requests. He wondered why local firms would be denied tax waivers when foreign firms like MPS were granted exemptions.
The Majority leader claimed that the NDC administration, through the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), designated some companies as strategic investments and granted tax waivers without recourse to Parliament. He listed companies like Dzata cement, Dream Reality, and Boston Investment among others.
Afenyo-Markin quoted Dr. Casiel Atro Forson, then Deputy Finance Minister, justifying the need for Parliament to grant waivers to MPS, so the company does not relocate to another country. He wondered what has changed today to warrant the opposition.
The Majority leader emphasized that the NPP government is committed to creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive and urged the Minority to support the tax waiver requests to promote economic growth.
