New taxes introduced by the govt will ensure massive development - NPP man

According to him, the resources acquired with these taxes are meant to help grow back the economy after it was hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

"We are at that point where every Ghanaian has to chip in a little so that we are able to recover. We cannot as a country allow the temporary challenges that we face today to hold us back.

"We need to bite the bullet, raise some more resources and invest the same in the things that we all aspire to achieve in this country," Nana Kofi Ntiamoah said on Accra-based Kingdom FM.

He stated that the government needs the resources to fund, roads, sanitation projects, and the many policies it introduced like Free SHS, Planting for Food and Jobs, among others.

The government has introduced three levies and the decision to increase taxes in the 2021 budget statement.

The Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah indicated that the government needs adequate support from Ghanaians to succeed in its post-COVID-19 economy recovery plan.

He said Ghanaians must pay for the free provision of water and electricity introduced by the government in 2020 as part of the relief packages to bring financial and social relief and reduce the continued ravaging impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

"It [Water and electricity] was free to the people of Ghana at the time," Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah said.

"When we say free electricity it doesn't mean that the IPP producer is also going to say because the President has said free electricity I won’t charge for it," he added.

Some analysts and Ghanaians have already expressed their disagreement with the proposal, indicating it will only lead to hardship for them.