With the groundswell disgust against the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy), many Ghanaians had expected officials of the Akufo-Addo government to know better, rather than taunt them with a cake designed in the name of the levy, to mark a birthday celebration.
Majority Leader and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, who has been struggling to have a well composed Parliament to pass the levy based on consensus, but in Kumasi over the weekend, he was seen cutting an E-Levy cake to celebrate his 65th birthday.
The is arguably one of the biggest PR gaffes a group of politicians especially from the ruling party will be seen getting involved in particular when the President, Nana Akufo-Addo, had in recent times publicly admitted economic hardship in the country, and sought to avoid blame even the face several strike actions in the education front and Free SHS students having to be in school without food.
The cake appears to have destroyed the government’s argument of the intent of the E-levy as many are saying it will simply be “chopped” especially coming on the heels of unfavourable ratings of the Ghanaian economy of several international bodies including Fitch and Moody’s.
Present at Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu’s birthday celebration were many high ranking government officials including the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah, Parliamentarians including Nana Ayew Afriye, who represents the Effiduase-Asokore Constituency in the Ashanti Region.
Also present were the NPP Ashanti regional chairman Bernard Antwi Bosiako alias “Chairman Wontumi”, Mr. Senyo Hosi, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors, the Second Deputy Speaker, Andrew Amoako Asiamah.
Officials of the Akufo-Addo government have been on a nationwide tour appealing to Ghanaians to buy into the E-Levy, which will pay a 1.75% on Mobile money and other electronic financial transactions saying the money will be used for road construction, building bridges, schools among other developmental projects.
The ill-advised cake has set social media ablaze, and it is unclear what the government’s PR machinery will do or as usual ignore the fallout from the situation and proceed with the passage of the E-Levy, hoping it will die a natural death.
