Organised Labour in Ashanti readies for anti 15% electricity VAT demonstration

The leadership of Organised Labour in the Ashanti Region say they have prepared adequately to ensure that members of the unions participate fully in the upcoming demonstration against the fifteen percent Value Added Tax (VAT) on electricity consumption.

Organised Labour begun agitations some weeks ago by wearing red arm bands to demand from the Government, to as a matter of urgency, reverse the decision to impose the 15 percent VAT on electricity consumption.

At a meeting in Kumasi on Tuesday, Mr Augustine Adongo Apambila said all was set for the protest on February 13, this year, since the government had not made any official statement regarding the complete reversal of the policy.

He said the routes for the protest had been approved and all the necessary arrangements, including security, had been put in place.

Mr Apambila said Organised Labour was expecting members and individuals in the informal sector to also participate in the exercise actively.

“Our message to the Government is very simple – we cannot pay VAT on electricity; we will not pay it today; we will not pay it tomorrow,” he stressed.

He said it was devastating that after electricity tariffs were increased by 73 per cent in 2022, VAT was being added, to worsen the plight of Ghanaians.

He said Organised Labour was expecting members and non-members to fully participate in the protest and also urged various labour groups to organize their members for active participation.

Mr Apambila indicated that the protest would begin from Kumasi Cultural Center through the principal streets and end at the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) where a petition would be delivered to the government.

Source: GNA