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Company News from Tuesday, June 11, 2019
Source: ghananewsagency.org
2019-06-11
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The World Bank has urged the Government to redouble its efforts to diversify the country's economy and broaden the tax base to ensure that the largest number of taxpayers contribute to domestic revenue mobilization.
The World Bank Group believes that there should be a shift in focus from extractive sector revenues to other critical areas with huge potential for economic potential, such as 39; agriculture.
Mr. Henry Kerali, World Bank country director for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, said in a media conversation on Monday as part of his end-of-mission activities that, even though the country had significant growth, on the back of extractives.
He said that he had noticed a number of positive points in the country, including a well-established peaceful democratic system, having personally witnessed a peaceful and smooth transition, which many African countries aspired to.
He said the country has experienced significant growth over the past two or three years, with one of the highest growth rates in the world, adding that poverty levels have also been reduced by more than 50 percent. %.
Mr Kerali said that over the years, Ghana has shone brightly and positively positioned itself among the best prospects for future growth in the African region and attracting foreign investment for create jobs for citizens.
Speaking of the challenges faced by the country during his stay in the country since 2015, he said that the country's debt had increased, reaching about 60% and less, adding that the energy sector also had challenges. well.
The very narrow economic base, mainly driven by the extractive industries and cocoa, also posed problems that really required diversification.
Mr Kerali said that in recent years, the oil and gas sector has been the subject of too much attention at the expense of other sectors, which calls for a look at on other potential sectors, such as the direction of investment in agribusiness, information and communication technologies, among other viable sectors.
In order for the government to increase its revenues, the World Bank director in his country said it was important that the government consider expanding the tax base effectively in order to reach broader taxpayers .
He said more needs to be done in the field of property tax levies, which have been a major source of revenue for many economies around the world.
Kerali said the government should ensure that the informal sector is included in the tax system by taxing players at a very low rate. A strategy that he said had been adopted by Brazil and was working effectively.
He urged the government to also improve the business climate in order to contribute to the growth of the private sector, which could employ about 90% of the labor force and thus significantly reduce unemployment.
Mr. Errol C. Graham, Program Manager at the World Bank, said the non-oil sector is an essential part of the growth of the country's economy.
He said the situation was not peculiar to Ghana, as other countries had experienced a similar growth pattern, characterized by high economic growth but low employment levels.
He said that this kind of economic growth started in 2011, but since 2018 the non-oil sector has slowly recovered, a trend the World Bank hoped to see continued.
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