Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Vice Chairman of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Manifesto Committee, has strongly defended the party’s flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, following his pledge to abolish the controversial E-Levy.
At the NPP’s manifesto launch on Sunday, August 19, in Takoradi, Dr Bawumia committed to several tax reforms, including the abolition of the E-Levy and betting tax, should he be elected in the 2024 general elections.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has criticised Dr Bawumia for not advocating for the removal of the E-Levy while serving in the current government.
In an interview with Bernard Avle on The Point of View on Channel One TV, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah defended Dr Bawumia, noting his initial opposition to digital payment taxation before the E-Levy’s implementation. He argued that it would have been unreasonable to expect the Vice President to publicly denounce the policy once it was adopted.
Oppong Nkrumah, who is also the Minister of Information, asserted that there is no inconsistency between Dr Bawumia’s promise to abolish the E-Levy and its current implementation. He urged Ghanaians to trust Dr Bawumia’s commitment, assuring them that he would fulfil his promise if elected.
“The Vice President Dr Bawumia, even before the E-levy was introduced, was clear on his position about taxing digital payments. I have been on record saying that when the matter came before the cabinet, he expressed his principal opposition to it. But in the end, the cabinet took a particular position.
Oppong Nkrumah emphasised, “Of course, it will be folly of him as a sitting Vice President to come and do a press conference and say that he disagrees with the stance of my government. He expressed his position, but we take collective responsibility for what was done around the table.
“He has therefore now said that if you make him the man in charge in 2025, that principal position that he has, he’s going to establish it by ensuring that this E-levy and other revenue lines that he considers unnecessary will be taken off. There’s no discrepancy between the two.”
