President Akufo-Addo says the Electronic Transaction Levy would make a significant contribution to revenue mobilisation and the management of the national economy.

The Majority on Tuesday passed the 1.5 per cent Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy) after Minority members staged a walkout.

However, delivering the State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Wednesday, President Akufo-Addo who thanked Parliament for the passage of the bill, noted that the country was in a difficult place and needed the revenue to develop.

“Mr Speaker, despite the protracted and sometimes acrimonious nature of proceedings, I am happy that the House has, finally, found it possible to pass the E-levy Bill. I believe the levy is going to make a significant contribution to revenue mobilisation and the management of the national economy, and I want to thank Members of the House for making this possible,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo added that the “road to recovery will be hard and long, Mr Speaker, but we have started on a good footing by accepting that we are in a difficult place and are taking the difficult decisions that will get us out. If anyone ever had any doubts about the need to be self-reliant, the point has now been forcibly drilled home to us. The pursuit of the Ghana Beyond Aid agenda is even more compelling now.

"I have no doubts whatsoever that we have it in us to build the Ghana of our dreams. I saw the spirit of togetherness and the willingness to help each other when COVID struck. We looked out for each other. I saw the sense of enterprise and innovation of the Ghanaian. I saw our manufacturers quickly adapt their plants to produce sanitisers and our tailors equally quickly displayed the innovation they had always been known for, by turning face masks into fashion items," he said.