Akufo-Addo Packs Taxes Like Storey Building On Cement …Randy Abbey laments

Host of Accra-based Metro TV’s ‘Good Morning Ghana’ show, Dr. Randy Abbey, has decried a catalogue of 18 levies and taxes that the Akufo-Addo government has heaped on the importation of clinker as reason that nobody can expect cement prices to come down.

As clinker is an indispensable raw material for the manufacture of cement, Dr. Abbey, wondered how a heaping of almost Ghc4.8million worth of taxes and levies on its importation would leave room for anybody to expect cement prices to come down.

 “…So we talk about cement prices in Ghana and how cement prices affect everything and…how is a company which is inundated with these taxes can expand, can make cement cheaper, and can employ a lot of people. How can cement be cheap?” he asked in frustration.

  Cement prices are for the first time hovering close to Ghc50 per 50kg bag. For example, a bag of GHACEM Super Rapid is wholesaling at Ghc44.918, GHACEM Super Strong is wholesaling at 46.782 per bag, and GHACEM Extra is going for 47.651.

In the retail market, the bags are going for over Ghc50 per bag

 A document cataloguing the breakdown of the whopping Ghc4,726,302.02 import tax on imported clinker which Dr. Randy Abbey showed his viewers and panelists on the show including veteran journalist, Kwesi Pratt Jr., has since been evoking angst at the insensitivity of the government is piling up taxes on the raw material.

Per the breakdown, the import tax on the clinker itself is only Ghc749, 583.38. but in addition to this, there are items including, Special import levy, Ghana Export-Import Bank EXIM, Import VAT, CCVI process in fee, IRS tax deposit, network charge, and Ghana Shippers Council SMS fee.

Others are Ministry of Trade and Industry E-IDF fee, DIS company, Network Charge GETFund, Net charge NHIL, Network charges, COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy, ECOWAS levy, African Union Import Levy, import NHIL, Net charge VAT, etc.

In all 18 taxes and levies are heaped on the importation of clinker alone.

“These are 18 taxes levies and charges. You see that the Import duty itself is Ghc749, 583.33, that’s the import duty. If you add all these, the final figure is Ghc4,726,302.02,” Dr. Randy Abbey said.

He points out that taxes levies and charges alone minus the import duties is almost Ghc4million