ghananlpcommunity/ghana-gov-speeches-sentences huggingface dataset:
Ahmed organized all his followers, chiefs and Assembly members to brief them on the communique and urged them to abide by the terms of the communique, Mr.
Joe Danquah chose to circulate the following information to his supporter through social media.
As expected, the NPP vigilantes embedded in the military detachment continued the intimidation unabated.
Upon receiving all these reports, I paid a working visit to the Banda constituency as part of my nationwide monitoring tour as the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress.
Upon entering the district, my first point of call was the Banda Traditional council, where I was handed a copy of their petition to the Regional Minister and the other relevant bodies.
They also recounted an encounter by Nana Osiakwanhene of Banda Traditional Area, Nana Bankwade with military men in front of his house close to a registration center.
From the Omanhene's palace, I proceeded to the Bongase Palace where the same stories of intimidation were confirmed.
I then decided to engage all the heads of the security agencies deployed in the Banda Area.
Each of the security agencies flatly denied all the stories of intimidation in the presence of TV cameras.
I then proceeded to the landing site where the shooting and intimidation had allegedly been taking place.
I met a gathering of about 2000 inhabitants who claimed they have been prevented from accessing the registration centres at Bongase Akanyakrom and Banda Ahenkro.
I assured them of their rights as citizens who have resided in Banda for over 5 years to register and vote.
I further encouraged them to move to the registration centre to register to enable us to determine who was telling the truth and who was lying.
After that, we decided to move back to the commander at Akanyakrom to brief him of the information we had received which was contrary to his earlier claims.
On our way to Akanyakrom we recieved a distress call from one of the Ewe Community leaders calling us to come and see for ourselves, a road block that had been mounted by the soldiers between the landing site and Bongase.
We quickly rushed back to the scene, and lo and behold we saw KIA Trucks, Tricycles and pick-ups loaded with Fisher folks who were being ordered by the military to get down and go back to their Villages because they were Togolese.
I got down from my vehicle and in the company of the MP for Banda accosted the armed military men to find out what was happening.
When they confirmed that they were under strict instructions to block the fishermen from having access to the registration centres because they were Togolese, I decided to call the military commander to also come and witness what his boys were doing.
The Commander upon his arrival appeared embarrassed, but helpless.
After we insisted he did the right thing by clearing the illegal road block.
He eventually conceded and ordered the complete removal of the roadblock to allow the vehicles move on after which I left the constituency.
The final day of registration on 6th August, 2020 a kia truck with an Ivorian registration number plate entered the district with 66 occupants and drove straight to Kabrono registration centre.
The occupants disembarked and attempted to register.
The MP for Banda, Hon Ahmed was alerted and he lodged an official complain to the Ghana Police Service and Immigration Service wondering how these Ivorians had managed to enter the country when boarders were supposed to have been closed.
The District Police commander advised that the NDC agentS comply with the law by challenging the Ivorians, but added that they did not have the capacity to impound the foreign vehicle and its occupants.
Forty seven (47) of them were identified and challenged by the NDC party agent Unfortunately the EC official under pressure from the NPP and security commanders present at the scene, decided to disobey their own rules concerning the challenge process and release the completed voter ID cards to the person challenged making their subsequent appearance at review committee unnecessary.
Fearing that they could be attacked by the youth outside the NPP stronghold, the vehicle was parked at Kabrono overnight and the occupants passed the night.
At dawn of the following day, the vehicle then under the cover of darkness left with its occupant’s toward Ivory Coast.
Following a tip off, the NDC youth in Dorbor an NDC stronghold close to the border with the assistance of Comrades from Sampa, intercepted the foreign registered vehicle by physically blocking the road leading to cote’D’viore.
At this point the NDC invited the media to the scene and made it impossible for the immigration officials not to act.
The media captured some of the Ivorians with their carte d'identité and the voter ID cards and they confessed having been brought in by one Yao to register and get a payment of 300ghc each Whiles at it, the NPP in the line with their strategy as captured in the Deputy Minister’s audio rushed to the media to allege that the Ivorians have been brought in by my good self.
Followed by another press conference by my colleague General Secretary of NPP, John Boadu confirming the lies that has been told by his Regional Chairman.
The EC quickly came out to promise to open an investigation into the matter, apparently acting in a wrong belief that Asiedu Nketiah may have been trapped at last.
They promised to investigate and publish their findings while punishing anybody involved in the wrongdoing.
We are still waiting for their report.
Ladies and Gentlemen, after my initial rebuttals at joy FM, I decided to stay put investing my hopes in the EC to conduct the said thorough investigation and for the Ghana Police Service and the Immigration Service to do the right thing by dealing with the culprits according to law.
After waiting 27 clear days for action on this urgent matter, very little or no action appears to have taken by way of serving the course of justice.
Rather, what we have witnessed is a desperate attempt to cover up the perpetrators of the heinous crimes.
Ladies and Gentlemen, two incidents that have occurred recently, leading to my heightened suspicion that, whatever crimes that had been committed during the registration exercise country wide and in particular Banda, had happened with President Akufo Addo’s complicity.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the media, it is instructive to note that after the arrest of the Ivorians at Dorbor they were quickly processed at the Sunyani Circuit court and were quickly granted bail at the instance of the NPP Regional Women Organiser, Madam, Ama Amponsah and the case was subsequently adjourned indefinitely.
The second is the president's attempt to embark on a campaign of misinformation to cover up these misdeeds.
His Excellency has made several statements to commend the peaceful nature of the registration exercise without mentioning a single act of violence during the exercise, including that perpetrated by his own appointees.
On his recent tour of the Volta Region, instead of using the opportunity to apologize for his unwarranted ethnic discrimination against the Voltarians, he claimed ignorance of all the bad things enumerated above and stated rather shamelessly that he has no evil agenda against them Voltarians.
This is the 21st Century Ghana under Nana Addo..!!!!
Conclusion Ladies and Gentlemen, in conclusion, the NDC will like to appeal to all peace loving Ghanaians to join the fight for justice for innocent Silas Wulo Chameh who was brutally murdered by the NPP hoodlums and impress upon the President and the EC to walk their talk by ridding the new voter register of the 66 Ivorians who were surreptitiously brought in by the NPP Parliamentary Candidate in Banda to register and punish severely all the perpetrators involved.
Let me use this opportunity to invite the International Community to impress upon Nana Akuffo Addo’s Government and the relevant state institutions mentioned in the leaked tape to take immediate steps to abandon any grand agenda of collusion with the NPP to perpetrate violence, intimidation and injustice on the people of this country whose only offence is to insist on their right of self-determination and choose the path of peace, justice and fairness to help sustain our young fragile democracy which is appears to be under threat from the Akufo Addo-Bawumia government.
May God bless our Homeland Ghana.
Good afternoon, distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen of the press.
We graciously welcome you once again to the Headquarters of the National Democratic Congress, as we consider it another privileged opportunity to engage with you on issues of concern to our nation.
As always, we are grateful for the continuous collaboration we enjoy from you in the fourth estate of the realm and we consider you very valuable partners in our collective quest for accountability and good governance.
Our engagement with you today will focus on the ever-worsening living conditions of the Ghanaian people and the insensitive handling of same by the duty bearers of our country.
Friends from the media, you would all agree with me that we are not in normal times in Ghana and that all of us assembled here today, including you in the media are finding it difficult to live your normal lives.
Indeed, it is more difficult to hew water out of a rock or perhaps for the camel to pass through the eye of the needle, than for one to make ends meet in Ghana today.
However hard you try, or have mastered the art of living, the economic realities of Ghana today will certainly overwhelm you.
Cost of living today is unbearable, leading to many individuals and households going hungry, broken marriages and many falling further below the poverty line.
Cost of doing business has gone off the roof, leading to the suffocation of many businesses.
The point has to be made here ladies and gentlemen, that general hardships per se are not a new phenomenon in our country.
However, the current economic hardships Ghanaians are experiencing today are unprecedented in their scale, and unbearable in their impact.
Today, the Consumer Price Index which is the barometer for measuring inflation or changes in the prices of goods and services, and all other known economic indicators point to the fact that we are not in normal times.
Yet, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumiah government, is not minded to provide relief for the suffering masses.
Government has neither demonstrated any sensitivity towards the Ghanaian people who are at the receiving end of this intolerable hardship, nor shown any acumen or ability to ameliorate the untold economic hardships.
Alas, to borrow the words of one of Africa’s famous novelists, Chinua Achebe, the center cannot hold, things continue to fall apart, as continuous economic hardship is unleashed on the Ghanaian people on a daily basis.
Distinguished friends from the media, at this juncture, it bears painting a picture of the current state of our economy in order to put the issues into their proper perspective.
I therefore invite you to come with me on a journey of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia economic reality of today.
HIGH INFLATION Friends from the media, the most reliable indicator of the average change in prices of goods and services over a period of time is the rate of inflation.
As we speak, inflation rate which stood at 15.4% in December 2016, has galloped to a whopping 30% as at June 2022.
This inflation rate is the worst in the sub-region and in fact the worst inflation rate Ghana has recorded in the last nineteen (19) years.
One would have thought that this mid-year period would have at least presented Government with an opportunity to take steps towards arresting the ever-rising inflation rate we are currently experiencing.
Sadly, however, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta only last week presented the 2022 Mid-year budget Review Statement to the august House of Parliament in which he projected an end of year inflation rate of 28.5%.
What this means is that, President Akufo-Addo and his vice Alhaji Bawumia, ably supported by their Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, have given up on arresting the current trend of inflationary pressures and have instead thrown their hands up in despair.
Simply put, the suffering and excruciating economic hardships we are reeling under will continue to persist for the rest of the year with no end in sight.
To be projecting an end of year inflation rate of 28.5% under the current rebased economic regime underlines the crass incompetence, cluelessness and uselessness of the Economic Management Team chaired by the Vice President, Alhaji Bawumia.
Sadly, while the Akufo-Addo government continues to pay lip service to this problem of rising inflation, it is at the same time offering very little in terms of leadership, vision and proactive steps to address the push factors of inflation.
Friends from the media, it is trite knowledge, even to the uninitiated, that the main factors pushing up inflation and to a large extent, the economic hardships we are experiencing today, are the exchange rate, fuel prices, payments, among others.
A government’s handling of these three (3) things largely influences its ability to stabilize inflation, improve general economic wellbeing, among others.
And so, to these factors, we now turn attention.
FUEL PRICES Distinguished men and women of the inky fraternity, fuel price hikes today have become a frequent occurrence, with prices going up at the pumps sometimes twice or three times a week.
This phenomenon has largely been occasioned by the continuous depreciation of the our national currency, the Ghana Cedi under the watch of the NPP’s self-professed Economic wizard now turned comical IT champion, Alhaji Bawumia.
There is no gainsaying the fact that fuel prices have a ripple effect on the prices of general goods and services because of their direct impact on transport fares.
Therefore, when fuel prices keep going up, it sparks a negative contagion on everything.
Contrary to what President Akufo-Addo, Alhaji Bawumia and their many apologists in government will have us believe, the astronomical increases in fuel prices in recent time have very little to do with the five-month-old war between Russia and Ukraine.
On the contrary, it has to do largely with the continuous depreciation of the Cedi against its major trading currencies, notably the US Dollar.
This is simply because the fuel we consume at the downstream sector is imported.
Today, the US Dollar which used to trade with the Cedi at GHS4.2 in December 2016 is trading with the Cedi at about GHS9.
This has resulted in the deterioration of the capital of most Bulk Distribution Companies (BDC’s) and Oil Marketing Companies (OMC’s).
These entities who are struggling to break even are left with no option than to pass on the knock-on effect of the currency depreciation to the final consumer.
This is what has mainly resulted in persistent and astronomical increases at the pumps which have moved the price of a gallon of diesel from about GHS14 as at December 2016 to as high as GHS60 as we speak.
As a matter of fact, the price of a liter of diesel today which is GHS13.3 is almost the same as what the price of a gallon of diesel used to be in the year 2016- GHS14.
This is how bad things have become in this country under the bad leadership of the Bawumia-led Economic Management Team.
CRIPPLING FUEL TAXES Ladies and Gentleman, I believe you all recall the solemn pledge of President Akufo-Addo and Alhaji Bawumia to move Ghanaians from taxation to production?
Well, needless to say that this promise like similar others has become a pipe dream, as we have instead progressed from taxation to more taxation with no effort nor commitment whatsoever on the part of this government to reduce the level of tax payments in the country.
Instead of moving us to production like they promised, this government has introduced a raft of needless taxes like never seen before on the price build up of fuel.
SANITATION LEVY (“BORLA TAX”) One of such taxes is the 10 pesewas Sanitation Levy imposed by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government on every litre of petrol and diesel.
Never has it been heard in our history that a government has to rely on a special tax handle on fuel to keep our surroundings clean.
We insist that the introduction of this levy in this time of extreme economic difficulties is needless, unjustifiable and smacks of insensitivity of the highest order on the part of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government.
SPECIAL PETROLEUM TAX (SPT) Another tax handle that this government has nominally increased and extended on the price build up of fuel is the Special Petroleum Tax (SPT).
The 17.5% ad valorem tax was introduced in the year 2015 at a time the international market price of crude oil which was projected at $94 had declined to below $50.
The SPT was therefore a temporary tax measure meant to shore up declining oil revenues for development purposes.
You will all recall how the NPP while in opposition berated the erstwhile NDC/Mahama government for introducing this tax, labeled it as a nuisance tax and promised to scrap same if elected.
Interestingly, since coming into office, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government has changed the SPT from an ad valorem tax of 41 Pesewas as at December 2016 to a straight tax of 46 pesewas per litre of petrol and diesel.
Even though the Special Petroleum Tax has outlived its usefulness owing to the fact that the international market price of crude oil has in recent time risen to as high as $117 per barrel- a situation that has given government huge windfall profit as captured at paragraph 27 of the 2022 Mid-year budget statement, the insensitive Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government continues to charge Ghanaians a Special Petrol Tax of 46 pesewas on every liter of diesel and petrol even in these difficult times.
We submit that the continuous maintenance of the Special Petroleum Tax on the price build up of fuel by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government when the reasons for its introduction no longer exist is no longer tenable.
NEW ENERGY SECTOR LEVIES Friends from the media, one of the taxes on fuel which the NPP while in opposition vehemently opposed and promised to scrap if elected, is the Energy Sector Levies Act (ESLA) which was introduced by the erstwhile NDC/Mahama government in the year 2015 to clear legacy debts that were crippling the energy sector.
Instead of scrapping this tax as promised, the tax was increased by about 30% between the period of 2017-2020 by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government.
To add insult to injury, this government has collateralized ESLA for a loan which has extended the duration of the tax from its original duration of five (5) years to 15 years, that is until 2035.
As if that was not enough, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government only last year, introduced a new Energy Sector Levy of 20 pesewas on every litre of petrol and diesel, and a new Energy Sector Levy of 18 pesewas per kilogram of LPG.
Here again, we submit that the imposition of these so-called Energy-Sector levies on Ghanaians in this time of extreme economic hardships is callous and totally unacceptable.
PRICE STABILIZATION AND RECOVERY LEVY Ladies and gentlemen, in addition to the taxes I have enumerated, is the Price Stabilization and Recovery Levy of 16 pesewas and 14 pesewas per liter of petrol and diesel respectively, which we all as consumers pay anytime we buy fuel.
This tax is meant to be used to subsidize the cost of premix fuel and more importantly, to subsidize the prices of fuel at the downstream sector for fuel consumers when the international market price of crude oil goes up like we have experienced in recent times.
Per our conservative estimates corroborated by ACEP’s estimates, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government has collected in excess of GHS3 billion in Price Stabilization and Recovery Levies in the last five and half years but have woefully failed to apply these funds for their intended use, which is to cushion fuel consumers.
These crippling fuel taxes and other existing margins on the price build up of fuel such as the BOST margin which has been increased by a whopping 200% from 3 pesewas to 9 pesewas by the callous Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government, the Fuel Marking Margin among others, are what have conspired with the continuous depreciation of the Ghana cedi to make the prices of fuel excessively high in Ghana and in fact, far higher than the prices of fuel in neighboring countries.
THE OBNOXIOUS COVID-19 LEVY AND E-LEVY.
Friends from the media, what is even more painful is that on top of the many needless taxes heaped on the price build of fuel, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government has imposed certain obnoxious taxes on the Ghanaian people that have escalated the hardships in the country to unbearable proportions.
After receiving more than enough inflows totaling about GHS35 billion (equivalent to about $5 billion) to manage and mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and after spending only GHS12 billion of this amount on the pandemic as reported by the Finance Minister to Parliament few months ago, government last year imposed a 1% COVID-19 levy on the National Health Insurance Levy on VAT, thereby increasing it from 2.5% to 3.5% and another 1% COVID-19 levy on the VAT Flat Rate, thereby increasing it from 3% to 4%.
Friends, at a time responsible governments all over the world are cushioning their citizens in one way or the other to provide them with some relief against the debilitating impact of the pandemic on their businesses and livelihoods, our government is punishing us with this offensive and punitive tax that simply defies logic.
This is a tragedy of monumental proportions.
No where in the sub-region or in the Africa continent and I dare say the world, has any government imposed a COVID levy on its people.
And at no point in the history of this country has any government imposed a tax handle for the management of any disease on the Ghanaian people.
As if the offensive COVID-19 levies were not enough, the callous Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government against good counsel and wide public outcry has stubbornly imposed another punitive 1.5% levy on momo and other electronic transactions known as the E-levy this year.
This is after the Vice President and Chairman of the Economic Management Team, Alhaji Bawumia promised Ghanaians in the run up to the 2020 general elections that Momo transactions are mainly patronized by the poor hence must not and will not be taxed by the NPP.
This obnoxious E-levy which is applied on the capital, savings and already-taxed incomes of Ghanaians defies all the known principles of taxation in Ghana.
The stealth tax has significantly reduced momo transaction volumes and has become a great disincentive to digitalization in Ghana as it has forced many people to find smart ways of avoiding the use of digital platforms for financial transactions.
Little wonder that today, government has only realized a paltry GHS93 million as against a projected GHS1.4 billion from the tax handle for the first half of the year 2022.
Just as we in the NDC argued and predicted during the debate over the passage of the E-levy, it has today become apparent that the E-levy is not the panacea to economic woes of Ghanaians as we were promised by the deceitful and clueless Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government.
After displaying dismissive and stonewalled stubbornness, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has now revised his over-ambitious end of year E-levy target from GHS6.9 billion to about GHS640 million, which we doubt would even be realized.
Even more bizarre and pathetic is the fact that the counterproductive E-levy is sometimes charged on the first GHS100 sent by some Ghanaians to their loved ones in a day, despite same being exempted under the E-Levy Act.
This naked thievery being perpetuated by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government against already-impoverished taxpayers ought to be condemned by all well-meaning Ghanaians.
EVER-DETERIORATING EXCHANGE RATE DUE TO WORSENING FISCAL POSITION Our worsening exchange rate continues to play a major role in driving inflation and therefore requires further attention.