The passing of E-levy and the story of the three angry lepers

Three hungry lepers went to the market to buy some foodstuffs to prepare food. They went to a stall where a woman sold fish and vegetables. There were quite a number of people also waiting to buy from the market woman, and so the lepers had to wait for their turn, but their turn never came; the woman ignored them and decided to serve customers who came much later.

Irked by this development, the lepers decided to scuttle the woman’s business. They forcibly made their way into the stall and started touching the foodstuffs with their severed fingers. “Ye tapo, tapo,” they spoke through their noses in unison while touching the foodstuffs. Away bus, all the customers left the stall – no one wants to buy food items touched by lepers.

Having finished with the story of the lepers, as citizens, it will be essential for us to discuss some matters of national interest which are worthy of analysis. The cost of living is now very high and prices of goods and services are skyrocketing. It is, therefore, believed that the passing and implementation of the E-levy will overburden the already suffering Ghanaian as it adds up to the numerous taxes citizens are already paying.

Many also think that the E-levy is going to increase unemployment because it is going to collapse the Mobile Money Banking business popularly known as "momo".

The most incensed group of people regarding the passing of the E-levy are market women and traders who have resorted to the use of "momo" to pay for goods because of attacks by highway robbers.

As the economy continues to twist and turn, with dips and dives, tempers are rising, and Ghanaians especially market women and traders may not be easy converts to any unreasonable level of endurance.

And they seem to be mimicking the ghost, "If you have managed to escape tonight, remember there will be other nights."

True to the words of the ghost, there are many nights, and interestingly, one of it falls on December 7, 2024; so, a market woman whispered to me, "If government goes ahead to implement the E-levy, walahi talahi, ye b3 tapo, tapo."

Anthony Obeng Afrane