“Yentua” Protest Hits Killer E-Levy. -As Bawumia Eats e-Levy Cake With Disdain For the “Peasants”

Thousands of protestors consisting of civil society groups and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) today, hit the streets of Accra, starting from the Obra Spot to protest against the obnoxious Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy).

Under the umbrella body Coalition of Concerned Ghanaians (GCG), the groups started off their procession around 7 am on Thursday and would be marching through principal streets of Accra to publicly express their disgust at the attempt of the Akufo Addo administration to tax the savings of Ghanaians by extracting 1.75% from their money, every time they engaged in an electronic transaction exceeding GHC 100.

This group of protestors represents some 80% of Ghanaians who have stated in two separate surveys that they were strongly opposed to the “pick-pocket” e-levy.

The first survey conducted by popular online news portal Ghanaweb had an extensive sample size of 38,220 where 91% said they were against the e-levy.

The other survey conducted by Global Info Analytics had a sample size of about 2, 300 people which shows that some 71% of Ghanaians were opposed to the e-levy.

The Police have released details of the NDC Youth-led Yentua Demonstration which is to protest the introduction of the E-levy Bill.

Meanwhile, the demonstration came a day after videos and pictures emerged of Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensa-Bonsu and a number of officials and chieftains of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) exhibited utter disdain for Ghanaians protesting against the contentious e-levy, by staging an opulent birthday party with a specially baked e-levy cake.

Vice President Bawumia graced the chandelier party that smacked of elitist insensitivity to a contentious subject that had resulted in a violent fight in the Ghanaian Parliament and had sparked endless heated arguments in the public space.

Tagging along Bawumia to the e-levy party includes his wife, Samira Bawumia and several party big wigs.

Interestingly, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has been completely silent on the e-levy debate even though he is supposed to be the head of the government’s economic management team (EMT) and had once expressed his disgust at the very idea of placing taxes on Mobile Money (MoMo) transactions which form an integral part of the e-levy.

Bawumia’s appearance at the E-Levy party after dodging the e-levy debate has sparked criticisms on social media with angry netizens slamming him for his deception and insensitivity.