President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has expressed optimism in the government’s recent strategies aim at reviving the struggling post COVID-19 economy.
According to him, the government’s strategies will offer the country the chance to recover from the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking to BBC’s Peter Okowche on Focus on Africa, President Akufo- Addo said “In Ghana, the recovery programme we have is very credible and that is what is going to give us the opportunity to come out of this period a stronger economy, and it is that future we are looking at. The digital economy is emerging as the biggest economy in the country and for a long period, it has not had any tax at all, so it is important that it also comes into the net. ”
The President assented to the E-levy Bill on Thursday, despite a challenge at the Supreme Court by the Minority in Parliament against its passage.
The government had hoped the levy will widen the tax net and raise an extra GH¢6.9 billion in 2022 when it was first announced in the budget.
There is fear that will not materialise following the delay in the passage of the bill when it was laid in Parliament amidst the issues that characterised it.
However President Akufo-Addo believes criticisms against the passage of the controversial tax are unfounded, as countries affected by the pandemic have equally resorted to unpopular measures to revive their economies.
According to him, “The world is going through very difficult times. Ghana is no exception, Nigeria is no exception. There is no country in the world that has escaped the ravages of COVID-19. What you need to look at is the elements being put on the ground that looks beyond the Russia Ukraine war.”
“The economy has gone through very difficult times. I can quote statistics of the US and UK economies, but they will not serve a purpose. It is a phenomenon that is going on which has made life difficult.”
BY Vincent Kubi