President of the Ghana Plastic Manufacturers Association, Ebbo Botchway, has strongly criticized the imposition of a 5% excise tax on locally produced plastic products, warning of its adverse impact on businesses and consumers alike.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Newsnight on June 26, Mr Botchway expressed concerns that the tax was implemented without consulting his association, emphasizing its potential to exacerbate living conditions.
Mr Botchway argued against the blanket application of the tax to all plastic products, asserting that certain plastics, particularly rigid ones, do not pose significant environmental risks and should therefore be exempted.
He emphasized the need for a nuanced approach, advocating for a collaborative effort to develop a product-specific tax list that considers environmental impact.
“If this tax is not suspended,” Botchway cautioned, “it will not only harm businesses but also worsen the economic circumstances of consumers.”
He criticized the government’s decision to allocate the revenue purely for government purposes rather than earmarking it for plastic waste management, a move he described as problematic for the industry.
Moreover, Mr Botchway highlighted existing issues with the 10% tax under the Customs and Excise (Amendment) Act of 2013, which was intended to fund plastic waste management and recycling initiatives.
Despite collecting over 1.97 billion Ghana cedis, Botchway lamented that none of these funds have been allocated to support recycling efforts, suggesting that a fraction of this sum could significantly boost recycling initiatives and plants dedicated to processing plastic waste.
In the 2024 budget, the government expanded the Environmental Excise Duty to include plastic packaging, aiming to address distortions in the current excise policy.
However, Botchway’s association contends that without proper consultation and consideration of the diverse impacts of various plastic products, such policies risk undermining both environmental goals and the economic stability of local plastic manufacturers.