Mahama Has Scammed Ghanaians With Midnight Fuel Levy – Kofi Tonto

Kofi Tonto, a political aide to former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has criticized the NDC government. He accused them of deceiving Ghanaians with a controversial fuel levy bill. This bill was passed through Parliament under a certificate of urgency.

In an interview on Original TV, Tonto claimed the NDC scammed the public. They campaigned against unpopular taxes like the e-Levy and betting tax. However, they secretly introduced a burdensome fuel levy.

Tonto questioned how a party could promise to scrap certain taxes but then introduce new ones at night. He stated, “Ghanaians have been scammed.” He argued that the new fuel levy is more burdensome than the e-Levy.

For example, sending GHC 1,000 under the e-Levy cost just GHC 10 in tax. Now, drivers pay up to GHC 83 in tax for the same amount of fuel. This increase puts more financial strain on transport operators and ordinary citizens.

He criticized the government's fiscal policy approach as ineffective. Tonto said they are "robbing Peter to pay Paul" instead of providing real relief.

He also questioned why this critical policy was not included in their first budget presented to Parliament. The sudden urgency suggests a lack of transparency and planning.

“If the energy crisis is so critical,” he asked, “why wasn’t this in their initial budget?” He believes they knew it would cause outrage.

Tonto expressed concern over what he called a "rubber-stamp Parliament." He lamented that it fails to hold the executive accountable.

Using trotro drivers as an example, he said: “Why must a commercial driver pay GHC 72 just to fill their tank? This is plain thievery.”