Benjamin Nsiah, Head of Research at the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) has decried the high level of unaccountability and mismanagement of public funds.
He believes this occurrence has made Ghanaians reluctant to pay taxes.
Mr. Nsiah argued it is a huge burden for Ghanaians to pay huge taxes towards the growth of the economy and development of the country, yet these taxes are mishandled by those in governmental positions.
He suggested the oil industry contributes significantly towards a country’s progress, unfortunately he does not see that in Ghana’s development story.
He illustrated to Don Kwabena Prah, host of the Epa Hoa Daben on Happy98.9 FM, “There are about 11 tax, levies and margins on oil. For every litre you buy, you pay Ghc2.43 on petrol, Ghc2.41 on diesel and Ghc1.30 on LPG to the government, to use it for the benefit of the country. COPEC’s worry is to see the government judiciously use these taxes to develop the country. The sad story is, we contribute these taxes to pay for the huge salaries of government appointees, who are ineffective and inefficient.
It is annoying and unfair for the government to further ask poor Ghanaians to pay excess taxes for their incompetences.”
The COPEC boss also stated the amount contributed to road funds are not justified by the quality of roads seen in the country, which contributes to the vast challenges of drivers.
He additionally described Ghanaians as law-abiding and would forever contribute towards the country’s development, for that, most petrol consumers pay their taxes but cannot be further taken for granted in the country.
By:Jude Tackie
