President Akufo Addo has said that the introduction of the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy) is an innovative way of getting everyone to contribute to nation-building in terms of the payment of taxes.
He said only 10% of the over 30 million population pays taxes which he described as unacceptable.
“We cannot continue to allow less than 10% of the population thus, about 2.4 million people 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.
President Akufo Addo who was speaking at the maiden National Labour Conference at Nkwatia Kwahu in the Eastern Region said the government is implementing a policy to cut down the budget of ministries, departments and agencies by 20% this year as a way of its contribution to the development of the country.
The programme which is being organised by the ministry of employment and labour relations and its tripartite constituents is on the theme “Strengthening Tripartism for a Peaceful Labour Relations and Resilient Economy”.
Building peaceful labour front
Akufo Addo stressed that building a peaceful labour relation and a resilient economy is a collective responsibility that demands a participatory approach by all stakeholders to form a consensus on national issues.
He said the government has no intention of abandoning tripartite and social dialogue in the implementation of its policies and programmes because its interventions are intended to improve the wellbeing of the people.
“It is only fair and appropriate that we accommodate divergent views in the policymaking process,” Akufo-Addo said.
The Minister of Employment and Labour Relations Ignatius Baffour Awuah said though the government and labour have a good relation, the recent agitation on the labour front has the potential to impact negatively on productivity, security as well as the wellbeing of the citizenry if not properly handled.
He said the government will always use social dialogue which has been a tried and tested way of addressing issues on the labour front. The two-day conference hopes to have a meaningful solution to happenings in the labour front and it will be closed by Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
John Attafuah
