The Public Service Workers Union has attributed the country’s low revenue base to successive governments’ inefficiency in fully utilising domestic revenue.
The union argued that the allocation of mobilised revenue to service external debt, rather than initiating national projects, which often depend heavily on foreign aid, is stifling growth.
According to the Union, this approach does not inspire confidence in taxpayers.
Speaking during the second quadrennial of the GRA PSWU delegates conference in Accra, the General Secretary of the Public Service Workers Union, Bernard Adjei, urged the government to be more proactive in using collected revenues to improve the lives of average Ghanaians.
“[Ghana’s low revenue] can be attributed to the failure of revenue policies, excessive expenditure and borrowing by successive governments of our country. Our low revenue base has made it impossible for us to make adequate investments in major public and critical infrastructure, including health, education, infrastructure, housing, roads, and other necessities that will make life comfortable for citizens of the country.
“We have borrowed for every major infrastructural project, that we have carried out because the revenues collected are not able to fund these infrastructural projects. They are only able to help us in servicing our debts.
“The primary source of this deficit that we continue to run in our budgeting system has led to excessive borrowing and inability to collect revenue. We all know this is not because you sit here and do not have the capacity or you are not putting in the effort to collect revenue.
“This inability to collect the revenue is mainly due to our governance inefficiencies and corruption. And this extends to corruption,” the General Secretary of the Public Service Workers Union said.
He also questioned the basis for the government’s continuous push for tax exemptions for non-indigenous companies, citing recent incidents where the government was unable to clear essential medications at the ports.
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