Bank of Ghana Board Member Isaac Adongo has said the government is fully committed to eliminating the unpopular COVID-19 levy and is working towards a more efficient, equitable, and robust Value Added Tax (VAT) system.
Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express on Wednesday, May 14, he dismissed suggestions that the government had failed to fulfil its promise to scrap the levy, insisting that the process is ongoing and forms part of a broader tax reform agenda.
“We haven’t failed,” the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Finance Committee declared.
“We have given a roadmap. The COVID levy is being treated in a way that affects most of our taxes in relation to Value Added Tax.
“We are doing a holistic review of VAT plus the COVID levy to arrive at a tax regime that helps us raise the needed revenue whilst at the same time giving Ghanaians the relief that we promised them.”
When host Evans Mensah pressed him on whether keeping the levy amounted to a broken promise, the Bolga Central MP pushed back.
“No, putting it down in the manifesto doesn’t mean that we cannot do it,” he said.
“The Value Added Tax reform is ongoing. We want to make it better, wiser, and faster. And by the end of the day, we will deliver to you a VAT regime that is devoid of the COVID levy but much more robust and capable of delivering our revenue objectives. That is what we are working on.”
Isaac Adongo emphasised that timelines matter in implementing structural reforms and called for patience from the Ghanaian public.
“It is just that the time to do that, and the activities that we have lined up, and the processes to arrive at a proper solution, are not done yet,” he explained.
The NDC-led government has come under increasing pressure from civil society groups, businesses, and citizens to repeal the COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy, which was introduced during the height of the pandemic.
The party had campaigned on scrapping the levy, calling it a burden on ordinary Ghanaians and an example of the NPP’s failed fiscal policy.
But Mr. Adongo insists the promise still stands and will be delivered through a complete overhaul of the VAT system.
“We are not just interested in removing a tax,” he said. “We are interested in building a modern VAT system that is fair, efficient, and supports our development goals.”