… pledges transformative reforms and revitalised optimism
The city of Sekondi-Takoradi paused this Sunday as the incumbent New Patriotic Party (NPP), under the leadership of its Presidential candidate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, unveiled the party’s manifesto for the upcoming 2024 December elections.
This momentous event, held in the Western regional capital, followed the recent introduction of Vice-Presidential candidate, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh in Kumasi, in the Ashanti region. The announcement, which took place at a high profile gathering in Kumasi, was followed by a series of vigorous campaign activities across the country.
The manifesto launch, showcasing the Party’s commitment to bold reforms and renewed hope, has set the stage for an energetic political season, attracting tens of thousands of enthusiastic supporters and Party stalwarts to the city.
Presenting the contractual pact with Ghanaians, Dr. Bawumia emphasized that the manifesto embodies “hope with bold solutions.” He detailed his vision and the comprehensive policies and programmes that his government intends to implement, covering every sector of the economy.
Key remarks from Dr. Bawumia:
“Ghana needs bold solutions to deal with the current challenges we are facing, and that is what I am offering in asking for the mandate of Ghanaians,” Dr. Bawumia declared. “This manifesto lays out our comprehensive plan to take Ghana to the next level of growth and prosperity, under a selfless leader with bold solutions for jobs and business.”
Dr. Bawumia’s manifesto is heavily focused on jobs and business, with bold programmes and incentives to strengthen the private sector, including a new, friendly tax regime, significant cuts on import duties, and the abolition of taxes that stifle businesses, such as the controversial e-levy tax.
He hopes these measures will expand the private sector’s job creation capacity. Dr. Bawumia also reiterated his commitment to turning Ghanaian youth into digital literates, creating job opportunities both locally and internationally by training about one million youth in coding and other tech-related skills.
This, alongside enhanced focus on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), is expected to create more sustainable jobs for the country’s youth, complementing other sectoral programs.
“It offers the opportunity to create a new generation of entrepreneurs through my Business Support Initiatives. It strives to make Ghana a fully digitized nation where accessing public services is seamless,” Dr. Bawumia remarked. “It incentivizes the private sector to expand and deliver good jobs. It promises to leverage private sector capital to fix the roads in your communities, the schools, water, among others.”
Governance and Economic Transformation:
On governance and the economy, Dr. Bawumia showed a strong desire for economic transformation anchored in fiscal discipline. To achieve this, he announced that his government would not exceed 50 ministers and unveiled plans to amend the Fiscal Responsibility Act to ensure stricter compliance.
Across all sectors—from agriculture, health, and education to tourism, creative arts, and sports—Dr. Bawumia outlined his “bold solutions,” which he assured would benefit all Ghanaians, regardless of political, ethnic, or religious affiliations.
“My vision is to create a tent big enough to accommodate all our people, to tap into the resourcefulness and talents of our people irrespective of our different ethnic, political, and religious backgrounds, to channel our energies into building a country that assures a food self-sufficient, safe, prosperous and dignified future for all Ghanaians. I aim to create sustainable jobs with meaningful pay for all and for Ghana to participate fully in the fourth industrial revolution using systems and data,” he stated.
Support for business growth with new, SME-friendly tax system
Dr. Bawumia reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring a business-friendly environment by embedding a series of pro-business policies in the 2024 NPP Manifesto.
He emphasized his government’s strong desire to support and expand businesses, particularly through a new tax regime designed to aid economic growth.
“To increase government tax revenue, we must reform and refocus the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) towards broadening the tax base,” Dr. Bawumia stated. “Estimates suggest that revenues amounting to 13 percent of GDP, or US$24 billion in 2023, are not collected because many remain outside the tax net.”
Dr. Bawumia highlighted the cumbersome nature of the current tax system, which many individuals and businesses find confusing. To address this, he proposed a simplified, citizen- and business-friendly flat tax regime. This system would impose a flat tax on a percentage of income for individuals and SMEs, which constitute over 80 percent of all businesses in Ghana, with exemption thresholds to protect the poor. “With the new tax regime, completing tax returns should take just minutes,” he noted, adding that his government would also simplify the corporate tax system and VAT regime.
Additionally, Dr. Bawumia also announced plans to reform the Value Added Tax (VAT) system by merging all levies into a single line-item levy, treating it as part of input and output VAT to “eliminate the cascading effect in the current regime.”
To ensure a fresh start under the new tax system, Dr. Bawumia proposed a tax amnesty, offering a complete exemption from tax payments for a specified period and waiving interest and penalties for previous tax filing failures. This initiative would allow individuals and businesses to start afresh.
Dr. Bawumia also emphasized the role of tax digitalization in the new regime, stating that all aspects of tax administration would be digitised. “Everyone will be required to file a simple tax return electronically through their mobile phone or computer. There will be no manual or paper filing of taxes. Faceless assessments will ensure transparency and accountability, eliminating the need for GRA officers to physically visit shops. E-invoicing, as currently being implemented by the GRA, will be extended to all companies.”
Meanwhile, he reiterated his intention to scrap the e-levy if elected President.
Building a world-class digital economy to drive job creation
Dr. Bawumia, also pledged to build a world-class digital economy to support job creation, as he outlined his vision that leverages technology, data, and systems to fuel inclusive economic growth.
“I want us to apply digital technology, STEM, robotics, and artificial intelligence to transform agriculture, healthcare, education, manufacturing, fintech, and public service delivery,” Dr. Bawumia said.
He noted the significant progress made in increasing internet penetration from 34 percent in 2016 to 70 percent in 2023 and set an ambitious target to achieve over 90 percent internet penetration within the next four years.
Determined not to let Ghana miss out on the Fourth Industrial Revolution, as it did during previous industrial revolutions, Dr. Bawumia emphasized the need to develop the digital talent required for this new era.
His government plans to collaborate with the private sector to train at least one million youth in IT skills, including software development, providing them with job opportunities both locally and internationally.
The Vice President also announced plans to enhance TVET education and support the establishment of a National Open University Ghana with a focus on ICT, TVET, and STEM. To prepare the younger generation for the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, coding and robotics will become standard in Senior High School curriculums.
Dr. Bawumia acknowledged the need for more investment in Ghana’s telecoms industry, noting that the cost of data remains too high for ordinary Ghanaians. His government is committed to working with industry players to set clear policy guidelines that will remove investor uncertainty, ensure the expeditious allocation of spectrum, and enhance digital inclusion.
To further position Ghana as a digital hub in Africa, Dr. Bawumia outlined several initiatives, including the establishment of a National Robotics, Engineering, and AI Lab, a Fintech Fund with seed capital of US$100 million, and the implementation of a Digital Residency (e-Residency) program and a 5-Year Digital Nomad Visa and Work Permit to attract global tech talents to Ghana.
He also announced plans to create a marketplace to streamline public sector procurement, and ensure that holders of the Ghana Card will not need to fill out separate forms to apply for a passport.
Additionally, he said his government will work to make more spectrum available to operators at affordable prices, including 5G, and eliminate import duties on mobile phones until manufacturing capacity is established in Ghana.
Dr. Bawumia believes that these initiatives will help transform Ghana into a leading digital economy in Africa, ensuring innovation, creating jobs, and supporting the growth of high-tech businesses in the country.
