Arnold Appiah Writes: Scrapping Road Tolls is a Charade

It is unfortunate that the NPP government wants applause for their charade of a budget when they are still sleeping on the job; and in their slumber wants Ghanaians to believe that scrapping road tolls across the country is the miracle to boost their shameless grins.

Scrapping road toll does not make sense when you are just robbing Peter to pay Paul. The Bawumia-led Economic Management Team should have known that if even they have lacked ideas; they should have respected Ghanaians enough to know that the citizenry are content with the current state of the road network in the country. But what is the situation with our roads now to merit a freeze on that aspect of government revenue if not for a populist agenda? Is that the major concern of Ghanaians? No! This is just a sham, and adds no value to alleviating the present predicament of Ghanaians.

Fuel prices goes up and prices of everything goes up; the Ghanaian working family cannot afford three square meals a day. Life has been very difficult for Ghanaians to the extent that securing a job and saving 20% of earnings is not possible. The interest rates at the banks are not business friendly and thus impeding job creation. When you look at health delivery is it promising? Is the health insurance system reliable? This is what Ghanaians want answers to…the average Ghanaian needs social services that would bring value to their lives.

One does not need to be an expert to sniff the pungency of the disrespect to Ghanaians. Perhaps it would not hurt anyone for the Economic Management Team to hit the streets and ask pertinent questions to inform their decisions. Ghanaians need an educational system that would be accessible to everyone. Ghanaians need a secured environment to go about their businesses. What the Ghanaian need at this point is total harmony and everything that would bring prosperity but not the clandestine taxation. The so-called electronic transaction levy is a lazy approach and a means to collapse the industry; it’s too glare the ‘economic messiah’ is bereft with ideas and going back and forth on his cashless economy mantra.

I dare say that the 2022 budget statement is not inspiring to any Ghanaian; it does not provide the hope and economic relief in doing business in the country and let alone ‘suffering’ in peace. Ghanaians are being milked bone dry. Ghanaians were expecting the reduction in rents, utility and internet tariffs. Ghanaians also what further expansion of the road networks across the country so they can commute to do business easily? The con games must stop!!

The writer is the President of the NDC Proforum North America

Email: aappiah05@yahoo.com