You can’t be living large and ask citizens to sacrifice – Senyo Hosi slams government officials

He said the Ghanaian economy is literally on its knees yet there are no signs of austerity from government machinery.

Speaking on Accra based Joy TV, Senyo Hosi said the Akufo-Addo government is asking Ghanaians to sacrifice but they are not doing so.

“It is easy for everybody to talk about labour having to sacrifice. What is our government doing? I don’t think that our governments show the way appropriately.”

"We have to let people realize that while we claim that things are difficult, we are living lives that show things are difficult. You can’t claim that things are difficult and travels are what we see them to be. You can’t claim things are difficult and we are seeing our politicians buying new SUVs and trying to show who has the latest V8.”

"We can’t talk about things being broke and not talk about rationalizing the size of government. Government is too big. It is as simple as that. Show something and get labour to really come along,” he said.

Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta last year, in the presentation of the 2022 budget said it was time for burden-sharing as a people with one language to turn the country’s situation around for good.

Even though the Minister has reiterated this as many times as possible, Senyo Hosi says the government is not seen to be fulfilling its bargain.

“As a father in my home, when things are difficult, I don’t drive the big SUV. I let people know that we all have to scale down. I go in a small car.”

"You can’t live large and at the same time, ask those like labour who we all admit are highly underpaid to be sacrificing”, he added.

Ken Ofori-Atta - Finance Minister Pulse Ghana

Meanwhile, President Nana Ado Dankwa Akufo-Addo believes majority of Ghanaians are opposed to the idea of generating revenue through taxation.

“There is one matter of overriding significance, which we can no longer ignore: that is the pressing need to increase, drastically, our domestic resource mobilisation and reduce and eliminate our dependence on foreign savings. However, not everyone is ready to take the next step to the recognition that accelerated national development can best take place with a considerable increase in revenue mobilisation.”

“And very few will then take the next further step to accept that revenue mobilisation will happen principally through taxation in our society. We have, unfortunately, not yet reached the stage of universal acceptance of taxation as a matter of public good”, the President said.