The
planned demonstration being championed by a group calling itself ‘Coalition for
Social Justice (CSJ)’ has suffered a setback.
The
group, largely made up of members of the opposition National Democratic Congress
(NDC), is protesting against what it has termed as hardship in the country.
Members
of a Coalition of Economic Association that the CSJ announced were going to
participate in the march christened “Kum Yen Preko” have said they are
withdrawing from the action.
The
coalition said the decision to withdraw was agreed upon
by sub-associations including Vehicle and Asset Dealers Association of Ghana
(VADAG), True Driver’s Union, Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), Ghana
Committed Driver’s Association, National Concerned Spare Parts Dealers of Ghana
and Jacob Osei Yeboah, an Independent Presidential Candidate during the 2012
elections who were also planning to join the CSJ demonstration.
Members
of VADAG, for instance, had reportedly said they were going to demonstrate
against the luxury vehicle tax.
Executives
of the coalition attributed the decision to drop the planned demonstration to
the outcome of ‘a careful consideration’ of the protest.
The
statement signed by VADAG President, Eric Kwaku Boateng, said, “As an
association, we are open to further deliberations with the government on the
best way(s) of making Ghana business friendly and engaging. High nuisance taxes
will not only cause damage to business growth but also stall innovation and job
creation. This luxury vehicle tax, if not abolished, could cause such damage.”
“To
this end, VADAG entreats ALL members to proceed on normal work activities as
deliberations with the government still continue as we disassociate ourselves
from ANY protest on July 9 regarding the said luxury vehicle tax,” the
statement said.
According
to VADAG, they had resorted to seeking the intervention of stakeholders
including former heads of state, diplomatic missions and civil society bodies
to bring to bear upon government to drop the tax on luxury vehicles.
In
the aftermath of the petitions, government has promised to review the tax ahead
of the mid-year budget review.
However,
Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta’s word that the tax would be reviewed did not
appear to please the VADAG who said, “We still insist the tax MUST be ABOLISHED
and NOT reviewed.”
The “Kum Yen Preko” being led by CSJ was until the rescission by the associations slated to be held on July 9 to protest against what organizers said are difficult economic conditions.
By A.R. Gomda
The post NDC ‘Ku Yen Preko’ Demo Crumbling appeared first on DailyGuide Network.
