Bishop Akolgo, former executive director of the Integrated Social Development Center (ISODEC), said unchecked illegal financial outflows tend to undermine public confidence in state institutions.
His comments followed revelations by the Ghana Economic and Organized Crime Authority that some gold exporters facilitated the illegal outflow of more than US$1 billion from Ghana between 2019 and 2021.
Again, according to Global Financial Integrity, Ghana loses $3 billion annually on fraudulent billing transactions alone.
According to Bishop Akolgo, the failure of successive governments to close these loopholes has contributed significantly to the country’s underdevelopment.
talk Joy FM super morning showHe added that the government’s focus on taxation instead of saving billions of dollars that have illegally flowed out of the country could lead to people becoming disillusioned with the country.
“First and foremost, this is money that should have gone into hospitals and roads, but more importantly, it actually undermines confidence in our health care institutions.
“Referring to Customs, the Financial Intelligence Center and the Transfer Pricing Division of the GRA, these are all institutions set up to ensure that our international trade is free from manipulation and that we have the best resources for our development. is.
“If these institutions cannot do their job and we are chasing table traders here and there to collect a few pesewas, then really, as I said before, the people should resign from the state. “Because this is just your state glorifying the thieves, the crooks spend all their time oppressing the little guys to collect taxes,” he said. Told.
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