You did Kume Preko on VAT but now justify E-Levy - Lydia Forson slams Akufo-Addo

Actress and Social media commentator, Lydia Forson, has taken a swipe at the President of Ghana, H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, for his introduction of the Electronic Transaction levy.

She says that she is surprised that someone who led a demonstration dubbed 'Kume Preko' in 1995 against the then introduction of Valued Added Tax (VAT) has now introduced E-Levy in the midst of all the prevailing harsh economic conditions.

According to the actress, she is wondering what has changed from about 27 years ago when the protestors embarked on the Kume Preko demonstration.

"It’s still hard to believe that our president led the Kume Preko against VAT( value-added tax) because of the high cost of living then. Over 25 years later, he’s justifying #elevy at a time when people are barely making ends meet. What changed? Power?"

The 1995 protest took place in opposition to the Value Added Tax (VAT) initiative which was introduced under the Jerry John Rawlings administration.

It is said to have been one of the biggest protests ever organized in the country, with an estimated 100,000 people participating.

The demonstration was initially billed as a peaceful protest but quickly became violent when unidentified assailants went on a shooting spree resulting in the deaths of a few protestors.

In the aftermath of the demonstration, some of the leading protestors - Nana Akufo-Addo, Charles Wereko-Brobbey, Kwesi Pratt Jnr, Akoto Ampaw, and Napoleon Abdulai wrote a book "Ghana: The Kume Preko demonstrations: Poverty, Corruption and the Rawlings Dictatorship".