The President said the budget, when presented by the Minister of Finance, Mr Ken Ofori-Attah, “will make you in Abossey Okai very happy”.

The President thus urged them to be patient with government, stressing that all the promises made to them and Ghanaians would be fulfilled in the course of his tenure of office.

The President said this when he interacted with spare parts dealers and business owners at Abossey Okai as part of his three-day tour of the Greater Accra Region.

He thanked them for their support for the NPP in the run-up to the December 2016 election, adding that “had Abossey Okai not thrown its support behind the NPP and myself, winning power would have been extremely difficult, so I am grateful to you”.

Fulfilling promises made

President Akufo-Addo told the gathering that his government had started to implement several of the pledges made to the Ghanaian people ahead of last year’s election, such as the Free SHS, the revival of the NHIS, restoration of allowances to nurses and teacher trainees, among others.

Earlier, the President of the Ghana Union Traders Association (GUTA), Mr Joseph Paddy, said President Akufo-Addo during the 2016 campaign had promised that he would not be a desk President but one who would move around, adding that his visit was a confirmation of that promise.

He was optimistic that the traders’ bank as promised by the Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Alan Kyerematen, would be realised.

Mr Paddy also raised concerns that with the onset of the paperless port system, the prices members have had to pay on imports had gone higher.

He also lamented the taking over of retail jobs by foreigners saying while not being against the presence of foreigners in the country to do business, the law, which restrains foreigners from engaging in retail business, ought to be enforced.

Benefits of government interventions

The association lauded the 10 per cent tax exemption on spare parts as instituted by the government saying while people accused the government of bias, the association saw it as a “positive bias”.

That, according to Mr Paddy, was because the exemption had culminated in the reduction of the prices of spare parts to the benefit of Ghanaian vehicle owners.

However, in response to the issue of higher payment of taxes with the onset of the paperless port project, the Commissioner of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Mr Fred Crentsil, said importers ought to demand due diligence by way of official receipts from their clearing agents.

Additionally, he gave an assurance that the GRA would look into the issue of the higher taxes and ensure that all bottlenecks were addressed for mutual satisfaction and national progress.