The founder and flag-bearer of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, has indicated that as part of his economic action plans in ensuring that Ghana’s economy is back on track, he shall immediately cut tax by 50% in order to lessen pressure on businesses.
The Presidential Candidate of the third largest political party and a business magnate told Bright Kwesi Asempa, host of Kokromoti on Onua FM, that creating jobs for teeming jobless youths who are wandering about without any hope in the future, should not take any serious President of a country to know that lowering taxes can go in a long way to create many jobs.
He wondered how President John Dramani Mahama would claim that he will put money in people’s pocket when the same people are going out of business, when factories and companies are folding up or relocating with table top businesses also folding up “with speed”.
According to Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, “when you lower taxes you will be creating avenues for more businesses to thrive whiles new ones will start. In this way the private sector will take a chunk of burden from the state in terms of job creation.
All the state needs to do is to create avenues and opportunities but that is not with this administration. They are busily taxing businesses which are already reeling under energy (power) crisis; citizens are being taxed without mercy. I will reduce tax by 50% as soon as I take office”.
Using his conglomerate as an example, the Chairman of Groupe Nduom stated that even his chains of businesses were hit hard and continue to be hit by the ‘killer’ taxes as well as the power crisis but has to be artful in his approach in remaining in business. He conceded he would have folded up like others, throwing thousand of his employees to join the jobless youths on the street.
“I am saying it again that low taxes will encourage business owners as well as those who want to go into entrepreneurship and that will work to end no job syndrome that hit our country, the economy is bad and nothing is working, I have to move some of my companies elsewhere because of this harsh economic environment,” he revealed.
Nduom Dr Nduom in justifying how bad the country’s economy has become recounted how his businesses lost 40 per cent of revenue due to deterioration in the energy sector, a situation which he described as abnormal and a recipe for disaster for a developing economy like Ghana. “So I am telling you and the entire country that I will cut tax by 50% and it will work like magic, first thing when we take over. We need to let Ghana work again, people are suffering, and businesses are closing, but we will fix it.”
The flag bearer of the PPP reiterated that both President John Dramani Mahama and the flag bearer of the NPP have become masters in making promises and pledges to Ghanaians, promises he says keep changing election after election. “Nana Addo talks about a factory per district and President Mahama also talks about one million jobs, but can’t Ghanaians see that both are being rhetoric.
They keep shifting the goal post election after election, this year Nana Addo is promising factory per district but how he will do it nobody knows, 2012 it was free SHS and this year another but when you go round the country today, you will realize that I have actually started setting up businesses in all the ten regions, so the choice now should be between those excessive promise makers and me a doer.”
Dr Nduom maintained that he has not settled on Madam Brigitte Dzogbenuku just because the party wants to gain some leverage from the Volta Region but rather his decision was influenced by the fact that she understands the policies and principles of the Progressive People’s Party.
He added that Madam Brigitte Dzogbenuku as entrepreneur has what it takes to create jobs to stop the fast spreading canker of joblessness that is threatening to cause social upheaval. “My running mate understands what PPP wants to do for Ghana and moreover, people from her region are embracing the PPP agenda.”
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