Why you should look forward to 2022

But 2022 is likely to be an even better version of the year 2021 and in this GhanaWeb listicle, we try to bring your mind to some of the things that you might never have considered as expectations going into the New Year.

Let’s cut to the chase and get right into them: Budget approval (E-Levy)

Just because our introduction touched briefly on parliament, it is fair to start this listicle with the expectations of what the House will be giving us in the New Year.

Already, with many stages of the current budget before the House gone by: from the historic rejection to the controversial overturn and eventual approval, to the first chaotic scenes in the Chamber, compounded by the fisticuffs that occurred later, the document has not been fully approved yet.

At least for the most predominant new introduction of an Electronic Levy (E-Levy) by the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led government, with the Minority Members of Parliament, being supported by civil societies, bent on rejecting the 1.75% levy, people should really look out for it in 2022.

It is unclear when parliament will resume exactly since, during its last sitting, an indefinite suspension was declared.

Ghana’s performance at the 2022 AFCON

Effective January 9, 2022, through February 6, 2022, the continent of Africa will once again be united by its love for sports and Ghana, the interests in the performance of the Black Stars will be high on many people’s tables.

Taking place in Cameroon, a total of 24 teams from the qualified countries will battle it out for the coveted trophy, and the bragging rights of being crowned winners of the AFCON and Ghana will surely look to being among the top runners of the tournament.

Placed in Group C alongside Gabon, Comoros, and Morocco, Ghana will be making an attempt at winning its fifth title, hopeful of ending the country’s trophy drought from its last win in 1982. They will be led by returnee national team coach, Milovan Rajevac.

The Ghana Black Stars will kick off their participation in the competition with their first game against Morocco on January 10, 2022.

Possible showdown in parliament

This might sound pessimistic but if all the things that have happened in parliament in this past year are anything to go by, and with the unique make-up of the House, there is likely to be, at least one other major showdown in the House.

This is also particularly possible because, as it seems now, the Majority in Parliament doesn’t seem to have appreciated yet, the enormous powers that all the 137 Members of Parliament on the opposition side, also wield.

Possible tax reduction on fuel

In 2021, there were several times that the government increased fuel prices in the country but that trend might just be reversed in the coming year.

The spokesperson of the Coalition of Commercial Transport Owners, Abbas Imoro, reiterated the government’s express commitment to scrapping some petroleum taxes through the presentation of the 2022 mid-year budget.

This came to light after President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo met with the leadership of the transport unions in the country.

“We researched and found out that some of the taxes could be reduced for us to alleviate us from the current suffering situation which we are in… They promised that during the mid-year budget, they will try and do something about some of the taxes for us,” he said.

Completion of population vaccination target

From the onset in March 2021, when the first jabs of the vaccines for the novel Coronavirus were taken by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the intention by the government, through the Ministry of Health, has been to get the majority of the population vaccinated too.

In his most recent address to the nation on the measures taken in tackling the pandemic in the country, the president reiterated his government’s target of vaccinating some twenty (20) million Ghanaians.

While the president admitted that there were setbacks in the securing of vaccines to ensure that it met its target by the end of December 2021, he assured that the recently improved situation of vaccine supply is expected to speed up the exercise, and people should definitely look forward to this in the coming year.

March 2022 deadline for SIM re-registration

As announced by the government, all SIM cards in the country should be re-registered by March 2022 or else risk losing those numbers.

The government, through the National Communications Authority, on October 1, 2021, began the exercise that is ensuring that all SIM cards are registered using only the Ghana Card.

This is expected to curb mobile fraud, the government, through the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization, has stated.

The outcome of celebrity court cases

The year 2021 will not go out without the mention of the unprecedented number of court cases that prominent showbiz personalities have been involved in.

This is also particularly unique because of the new energy and confidence that has been brought to the Ghana Police Service since its new head, the Inspector General of Police, COP Dr George Akuffo Dampare, took charge of things.

Without giving any room for indiscipline to fester, the IGP has ensured that all have fallen in line with the law.

Through his proactiveness, big names such as Shatta Wale and Medikal are currently facing the law.

Source: ghanaweb