Ghana’s President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged Ghanaians to be prepared to sacrifice for the county’s development.

According to the president, the country can overcome the current challenges and develop only through the sacrifices of Ghanaians, citinewsroom.com has reported.

Akufo-Addo, who said this at the Summit of the Africa Finance Cooperation in Abuja, Nigeria, added that paying taxes forms part of the sacrifice Ghanaians must make to get the country out of the current challenges.

“All of these (taxes) are the sacrifices that are required for us to make it, and we have to be prepared to do so. So let us understand that we have to rise to the challenge and do it for ourselves,” the president is quoted to have said.

The president made these remarks on the back of his government introducing the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy), which is a 1.5 percent tax on all electronic money transfers above GH¢100, despite strong opposition by Ghanaians.

Also, Akufo-Addo at a 2022 May Day event told workers that government cannot afford to cancel taxes on petroleum products as some Ghanaians have suggested to help reduce the prices of fuel products.

He said that if the taxes are cancelled, the county will lose GH¢ 40 million in revenue needed to implement its policies and programmes.