Dr Gideon Boako, the Member of Parliament for Tano North Constituency, has urged President John Dramani Mahama not to use the upcoming National Economic Dialogue as an excuse to delay his promise of scrapping taxes such as the e-levy and betting tax.

In a Facebook post on Monday, 27th January 2025, Dr Boako expressed concern that the dialogue could serve as a diversionary tactic to avoid fulfilling campaign promises made to the Ghanaian electorate.

Dr Boako’s remarks come in the wake of an announcement by the Presidency on Sunday, 26th January, regarding the establishment of a seven-member committee to oversee the National Economic Dialogue.

The dialogue is expected to address critical economic challenges facing the country and chart a path toward sustainable economic growth.

However, Dr Boako cautioned that the platform should not be misused to justify retaining unpopular taxes that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) had committed to abolishing.

The Tano North MP emphasised that the NDC, under the leadership of Mr Mahama, had made clear promises during the 2024 election campaign to abolish these taxes if voted into power.

According to him, the Ghanaian people supported these pledges, expecting immediate action upon the NDC’s return to government.

Delaying the removal of the taxes under the guise of seeking broader economic consensus, Dr Boako argued, would undermine the trust of voters who believed in the party’s agenda.

Dr Boako further called on the newly constituted committee for the National Economic Dialogue to focus on finding lasting solutions to Ghana’s economic woes rather than engaging in strategies that would merely prolong the implementation of campaign promises.

He reiterated that the success of the dialogue should not come at the expense of keeping the government accountable to its commitments.

“National Economic Dialogue. Let it not be the case that it is just a vehicle to ascribe excuses for why President Mahama cannot redeem his promise to scrap e-levy, betting tax, covid levy and emissions tax.”