Claim: A Twitter user claims Alan Kyerematen had said he would cancel E-levy when voted into power.
Verdict: False. A search through Alan Kyerematen’s social media handles, major news websites and his recent public addresses after his resignation as the Trade Minister reveals he made no such comments.
Full Story
A Twitter user @_Sharyf has claimed that former Minister for Trade and Industries Alan Kojo Kyerematen says he will cancel the Electronic transfer levy policy implemented by the government when voted into office.
In the tweet, he said, “Alan Cash says he’ll cancel the E-levy policy if he’s voted into power.”
He made the tweet on Saturday, Jan 14, 2023. The tweet has garnered over 200,000 views with over 200 retweets.
Verification
The Electronic Transfer Levy, commonly known as e-levy, was implemented by the government on May 1, 2022. The levy was applied to mobile money transactions and bank transfers.
The proponents of the electronic transaction levy (e-levy) argue that taxes on mobile money present an opportunity for the cash-strapped government to raise funds for development projects in its ailing economy. But the opposition believes the move seeks to tax the poor. An Afro-Barometer survey showed that three-fourths of Ghanaians disapproved of the e-levy, including 67 per cent who “strongly disapproved” of it.
In view of this, and with the constant criticism of the policy by the Minority in Parliament, the levy, as announced in the 2023 budget, was reviewed to one per cent.
But has Alan Kyerematen said he would repeal it when voted into office?
Alan Kyerematen resigned as the Trade Minister on January 6, 2023. His resignation follows his decision to contest as the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the upcoming elections.
With such a major announcement by the NPP flagbearer aspirant, several news sites carried such a news item on their platform. Still, a thorough search on major news websites, such as citinewsroom.com and myjoyonline.com and peacefmonline.com, reveals there was no such announcement by Alan Kyerematen to repeal the e-levy.
We also did a quick search on his social media handles, including Facebook and Twitter and found nothing.
On January 11, 2023, Alan Kyerematen addressed Ghanaians announcing his presidential ambition. In the address, he outlined several initiatives he would champion when voted into power.
The full text has been published on myjoyonline.com, but after careful analysis, there was no announcement to repeal the e-levy.
Conclusion
The claim that former Minister for Trade and Industries Alan Kojo Kyerematen will repeal the electronic transfer levy is false.
