The Dean of the University of Ghana’s Law Faculty, Professor Raymond Atuguba, has warned that the economy is heading for some difficult period if something radical is not done immediately to rescue it.
Speaking at a public lecture on a review of the 1992 Constitution and its impact on the economy, he noted that Ghana’s current financial state is a threat to its democracy.
He noted that studies have confirmed that an ailing economy facilitates all successful coup d’états in the sub-region.
“A big part of why certain coups succeed and others fail is the economy. What is the state of Ghana’s economy today?
“At the level of the most irreducible idiomaticity, Ghana is broke. Your nation is radically broke. So broke, the Speaker of Parliament has publicly warned, gavel in hand, that we may not be able to pay the salaries of public sector workers in the next three months,” the academic said.
For him, passing the controversial Electronic Transaction Levy (E-levy) Bill is one of the concrete steps to prevent a coup and the economy’s collapse.
Although he described the tax policy with swear words, he noted that funds generated from this taxation will be the country’s saviour.
“We need to pass the damn ‘farah f*&king’ [sic] E-levy Bill immediately and implement it effectively.
“However, to prevent the collapse of the economy and a return to the stranglehold of the IFIs [International Financial Institutions], we have no choice but to pass it,” he stressed.
Prof Atuguba, however, cautioned government to stop “lying” to the citizenry.
He noted that the Akufo-Addo administration must “come clean and confess that you had thought the managing of the economy was simple.”
“Ghanaians are smart and empathetic and will gladly support the E-levy if this is done right,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Finance Minister, John Kumah, has rejected claims that government will be unable to pay public sector workers in the next three months.
According to him, there is no problem with government’s liquidity in the short term.
But he added that if the E-levy is not passed, it could be a challenge in the long term.
