Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah — Minister of Information
The COVID-19 Health Levy introduced by the government in the 2021 Budget Statement is not for the free water and electricity which was enjoyed by Ghanaians in 2020, the Minister of Information, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has said.
At a press briefing on Sunday afternoon [March 21, 2021], Mr Oppong Nkrumah said the claim that the government has said that people have to pay for the free water and electricity was false.
“You know that government has never said that you have to pay for the free water and electricity,” he said.
Rather, “the COVID levy is not for free water and electricity. For the avoidance of doubt, the Ministry of Finance’s statement [ATTACHED BELOW] deals with it but if you also go into the budget, if you go to page 58… of the full document, it outlines the uses of the COVID levy.”
Mr Oppong Nkrumah explained that the budget outlines what government has done with the COVID programme, listed it all in the budget and goes on to make the point that to provide a requisite resource to sustain the implementation of these measures government is proposing the introduction of a COVID-19 Health Levy of 1 percent increase in the National Health Insurance levy and 1 percent increase in the VAT flat rate for that purpose.”
So the correct position as highlighted by the Ministry of Finance should be noted, Mr Oppong Nkrumah said.
Watch a video of the press briefing below
