Pay Cuts For Government Appointees Will Not Achieve Much For Economy – Professor Stephen Adei

• Professor Stephen Adei wants the president to do more than just slash the salary of his appointees by 30%
• The Economist wants the president to cut the size of his government, increase revenue and reduce public expenditure
• Prof Adei also wants Ghanaians to support the proposed E-Levy and pay the 1.5% tax that will be charged on some mobile and electronic transactions

Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Professor Stephen Adei, has said the pay cut by government appointees and the Council of State would not do much to save the struggling economy.

He told reporters yesterday, March 23, 2022, at a GIMPA event, that the pay cuts are only meant to send a leadership message to Ghanaians.

“It is a leadership example. You are sending a message to the people that we are in difficulties and we know that people are suffering and we want to suffer with you,” Prof Adei said.

Read also

E-Levy firmly on Akufo-Addo’s agenda, Oppong Nkrumah hints of its return to Parliament soon

The former GIMPA Rector said the pay cuts would not yield even a tiny fraction of the billions of cedis needed to save the economy.

Prof Adei advised the president to do “standard economic things” like downsizing his government, cutting expenditure and raising revenue.

His comments follow a recent announcement by the president that the salaries of his appointees will be reduced by 30% until further notice to mitigate economic hardships.

Also, the members of the Council of State have voluntarily accepted to reduce their salaries by 20% for a year to support government's efforts to save the economy.

He also appealed to Ghanaians to accept the E-Levy and pay the proposed 1.5% tax on some mobile money and electronic transactions.

“[The E-Levy] is like a tax we need now to save Ghana from its current situation. The reason is that there are very limited avenues in the short term to raise revenue,” he said.

Read also

Government hints of planned review of Free SHS, 15 other flagship programmes

He said if Ghanaians fail to pay accept and pay the E-Levy, they will pay it through the depreciating cedi, inflation and other economic challenges.

Free SHS Must Be Reviewed, It is Costing Ghana Too Much – Professor Adei Revisits Old Advice

Professor Stephen Adei has revisited a call for the Free SHS policy to be reviewed because it was costing the country too much to implement.

The renewed call by the Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission said on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, comes at time when Ghana’s current economic challenges tops public discourse.

Prof Adei noted that although the free SHS is a good policy, it is time to block its budget-draining feature.

Akufo-Addo Responds To Critics: The Hardship Is Global; Ghana Is Not In This Alone

President Nana Akufo-Addo has responded to widespread complaints about Ghana’s challenging economy, saying economies worldwide were faced with similar challenges.

Read also

Harsh economic situation forces Akufo-Addo to go into a conclave with his top appointees

Commenting on the matter that continues to dominate public discourse on Saturday, March 19, 2022, the president assured that his team was taking steps to return Ghana’s economy to its glory days.

“Ghana is not the only country faced with extraordinary increases in global freight rates, strong inflationary pressures, dramatically rising fuel prices, unprecedented volatility of stock markets, and tighter global financing conditions. These are global phenomena,” the president said when he addressed the 92nd Speech and Prize-Giving Day of St Augustine’s College in Cape Coast.

Source: YEN.com.gh