President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is asking Ghanaians to exercise patience as the government works to mitigate their plight amidst the challenges confronting the economy.
He said just as the country’s founders painstakingly worked to ensure Ghana’s independence, his government will also take time to build the economy.
Speaking at the 2022 Head of State Awards in Accra, President Akufo-Addo assured Ghanaians of better days ahead.
“We must have the pride to acknowledge that we have made positive strides. We must also have the humility to appreciate that we still have some way to go. We must have the patience to accept that just as our fight for freedom and independence was not achieved in a day, so too, national prosperity will not come overnight,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo said the government is ensuring a solid foundation that will lead to an economic take-off for Ghana that will be to the admiration of Africa.
“We are establishing a solid foundation for the economic take-off of our country. In peace and in unity, I am certain that we will build a new Ghanaian civilization that will attract the admiration of Africa and the world,” he said.
Meanwhile, at a separate forum, Nana Akufo-Addo said it will be in the public interest for the controversial E-levy bill to be enacted into law.
He said Ghana cannot continue to depend on foreign aid, and must therefore find innovative ways such as the E-levy to raise revenue to finance its development.
“We cannot continue to allow less than 10%, specifically 7.8%, that is, 2.4 million people of the population to carry the direct tax burden of 30.8 million people. We must provide an opportunity for every Ghanaian to contribute towards nation-building,” he said.
“The proposed e-levy is such an innovative fiscal measure which will help improve our tax to GDP ratio on an equitable basis. I believe strongly that it is in the public interest that it should be enacted into law. We cannot continue to live on foreign savings,” he noted.