Live from Parliament – V. L. K. Djokoto

It’s rather likely that if you were the least bit cognizant on Thursday, 15 November 2018, you were listening to Ghana’s Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, who outlined a political agenda to reorient our socioeconomic sphere when he delivered the 178-page 2019 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, in accordance with Article 179 of the 1992 Constitution of the 4th Republic of Ghana, before the 7th Parliament. The theme was “A Stronger Economy for Jobs and Prosperity” and focused primarily on proposed reforms for agricultural modernisation; industrialisation; entrepreneurship and revenue mobilisation. But to wit, in Ghana, the budget is normally a way of reminding the citizens of the Republic about our economic setbacks, so they look forward to challenges.

As a panellist on the Class 91.3 FM, Executive Breakfast Show hosted by Moro Awudu, I joined the fraternity of press agentry which had been deployed to cover the occasion. I perused a thick volume of documents I had been primed with, by the research team of Class 91.3 FM the previous night, once more and quietly rolled the key issues around my tongue. The media had been allocated a space right behind the public gallery of the House of Parliament, from which a dozen radio and television stations were broadcasting the event live. The atmosphere was lit. Various Members of Parliament and journalists joined our panel for the morning show as we engaged the public in discourse concerning the prospects of economic growth and how the budget was going to impact our general standard of living.

The cliché skittish blame game between MPs across the political divide, about our economic hardships, dominated the discussion as usual. There is often a tendency for the incumbent government to undermine the culture of accountability by shifting the responsibility for our contemporary challenges on previous administrations. And these conversations, ultimately, never reveal any significant information; it is a chance for politicians to spew propaganda to score political points. I was spoilt for choice, even with the few minutes of time allowed for my probing of the politicians on our panel, considering the endless cases of incompetent governance and the pulp of disputable facts, or utterly lame excuses from MPs.

But the people who called in to make their complaints heard issued the government reality cheques – many Ghanaians had still not recovered from the shock of the government’s intervention to regulate the free market, although the government reportedly saved up to GH¢11.0 billion and 2,661 jobs in 2018. The Finance Minister had led a radical bank-cleaning exercise over the year which resulted in the collapse of 7 banks, within a short period of time. The political climate has been quite tense and the periodical budget presented the government with an opportunity to restore confidence in the dwindling popularity of the President and his economic management team. To many Ghanaians, the government’s solution to problems is often as bad, or even worse, than the problem itself.

The Finance Minister has greatly indulged in the art of compromise over the last 22-months, temporarily shifting the burdening obligation of tax, amidst the deep-rooted economic hardships, across various sectors the economy and social classes. In July 2018, the government introduced the unpopular high net worth income tax which was a 35 per cent tax on incomes above GH¢10,000. People who earn GH¢10,000 have now received an exemption from paying the personal income tax that was introduced earlier this year. The government has also cut the tax rate for people earning more than GH¢20,000 monthly to 30 percent from 35 percent.

Compromise is also dividing the cake in such a way as to make everybody believe they got the biggest slice. A wide range of taxes from healthcare; real estate and spare parts have also been abolished. The government’s decision to abolish levies on ‘Kayayei’, a physically demanding trade predominantly consisting of women, for example, would increase the disposable income of female workers. It was arguably harsh, on the part of the government, to impose levies on a demography of workers who laboured intensely for low wages without the security of work. The abolished tax on domestic airline tickets would also increase inter-regional trade and the mobility of products/expertise amongst the various provinces of the Republic.

I briefly went to the counter of the lounge for a strong cup of coffee before going into the main chamber to observe events more closely. By this time, a series of dramatic events had ensued behind the scenes. Elvis Darko, Editor of the Finder Newspaper, who was on our panel earlier, had been arrested for picketing; he made a passionate appeal for the immediate passage of the Right to Information Bill. A group of journalists pursued the police, with their cameras and microphones, to demand the release of their colleague journalist, who was eventually set free. Meanwhile, members of the main opposition, were notoriously printing sheets for placards to protests the budget. The Minister was still on his feet, gripping the dispatch box, maintaining composure while rounding up on his presentation, as both sides of the august house taunted each other. I returned back to the panel and signed off before exiting the premises. The reality strikes you immediately — it is no longer a question of what the Republic can do for citizens, but what citizens can do for the Republic.