The Minister for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has hit back at former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia over his criticism of the recently introduced “Dumsor Levy.” According to Mr. Kwakye Ofosu, the former NPP administration, in which Dr. Bawumia served, imposed over 30 different taxes during its eight-year rule—making any current criticisms deeply hypocritical.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile programme on Saturday, June 7, the Minister dismissed Dr. Bawumia’s remarks as politically motivated and lacking credibility.
“I have heard Bawumia waxing lyrical about this tax. If his government had imposed just E-levy, Ghanaians wouldn’t have risen against it. They imposed over 30 taxes on Ghanaians in the eight years that they governed,” Kwakye Ofosu stated.
His comments come in response to Dr. Bawumia’s recent remarks during his “Thank You Tour” in the Central Region, where the former Vice President accused the ruling NDC government of deceiving Ghanaians. He claimed that the government had scrapped the unpopular E-Levy only to introduce what he termed the “Dumsor Levy.”
Dr. Bawumia argued that the move was a betrayal of public trust and warned Ghanaians to prepare for more taxes under the current administration.
The Dumsor Levy, officially introduced through the Energy Sector Levy (Amendment) Bill, 2025, imposes a GH¢1 per litre surcharge on petroleum products. Government officials say the levy is necessary to raise funds to address the US$3.1 billion debt in the energy sector and to secure US$1.2 billion worth of fuel for thermal power generation.
However, the levy has drawn criticism from the Minority in Parliament, who have described it as a “predatory tax” that was passed with undue haste and without adequate stakeholder consultation.
Despite the backlash, the government insists the levy is a critical intervention to stabilize Ghana’s energy sector and ensure reliable power supply across the country.