Government’s intent to introduce a new levy on emissions from cars has received a heavy kickback from civil society organizations and labour groups.
The levy, which will see the imposition of varied amounts of monies depending on the type of vehicle will be charged on all vehicles that run on fuel that emits carbon dioxide (CO2).
Figure 1 Mr. John Awuni is the president of the Food and Beverages Association of Ghana
With over 80% of vehicles on our roads powered by CO2 fuels like petrol and diesel, government aims at reaching a revenue target of about 451 million cedis yearly in a bid to encourage the transition to environmentally options like electronic vehicles.
Although in the spirit of the country reaching its commitment to ensure a sustainable and safe environment, civil society and labour groups have raised concerns about the imposition of this levy.
Chairman of the Food and Beverages Association (FABAG), Mr. John Awuni, speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, argued that the levy to be imposed coms back to affect the lay Ghanaian.
“…they are coming with carbon emissions tax…not only the business sector is affected, schools and families are also affected” he stated.
Mr. Awuni also said that the move by government is bound to fail due to it past records in making Ghana’s environment safe from harmful practices like Galamsey.
“…Since 2017, this government has been fighting to ensure that the environment is friendly and river bodies are not polluted through galamsey activities, have we achieved that? If we have not achieved that, why do we think that now that they are left with one year, it is the carbon emissions tax that can help them achieve the environmentally friendly practices?”
“Number 2, there are three major clean sources of energy in… the world; nuclear energy, solar energy and then hydro. In our case, we only have Bui Dam and then Akosombo Dam which produce the hydro power…about 80% or so of our power sources is from thermal energy. And these thermal plants…emit carbons through their operations. Now if you come out with such a tax that you will want to ensure that the environment is friendly, people buy environmentally friendly cars…What will we do with the thermal plant which will be supplying the power?” he quizzed.
Figure 2 Dr. Joseph Obeng is the president of the Ghana Union of Traders Association | Photo Credit: Ghanaweb
Addressing the issue on the same show, president of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Dr. Joseph Obeng, said the levy is going to worsen the plight of the public, majority of which depend heavily on road transport.
According to him, an additional tax whiles affecting the purchasing power of consumers results in the low level of patronage affecting their incomes as traders. Additionally, it adds up to the high cost of running business in the country as it stands now.
“…cost of doing business in this country is very high already…so these taxes [The Emissions Levy and VAT on Electricity which has been cancelled] are deeply going to affect their [consumers] pockets and for that matter it is going to also aggravate their plight especially when their purchasing power has been dwindled by the effect of the inflation.”
“…Our turn-over is curtailed and it doesn’t help businesses. And that’s the reason why we are telling government not to go ahead with these taxes so that businesses can have the respite..It’s going to be difficult for us to operate…” Dr. Obeng pointed out.
Meanwhile the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) have insisted that imposing the levy will mean an increase in the prices of fares. They have already threatened up to 60% increase in transport fares following the imposition of this bill.
Background
The Emissions Levy Bill has been in operation since the 1st of February this year. According to government, it is in line with international commitments to make Ghana environmentally friendly whiles helping to cut down the levels of air and water pollution in the country.
