The Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has justified the government's decision to impose an Emissions Levy, VAT on electricity consumption, and other taxes. Speaking on Face to Face on Citi TV with Umaru Sanda Amadu, the Ofoase-Ayirebi MP highlighted the government's challenges in achieving revenue projections and emphasized the necessity of the newly imposed taxes for financial stability.

“Successes in implementing some of those revenue handles eluded us, look at the e-levy, the projections that were made in e-levy didn't come through. Once those projections didn't come through, we had to resort to other measures like the Fund [IMF] to help plug those. When you go into a programme with the Fund, they are going to bail you out, and then they will require you to mobilise those revenues that you didn't mobilise. To start cleaning up your books,” explained Oppong Nkrumah.

He addressed the suspension of the VAT on electricity, stating that the Finance Minister's initial proposal was to implement it to close fiscal gaps. However, due to public backlash, the cabinet did not agree, leading to the suspension.

Oppong Nkrumah acknowledged the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy, describing it as the biggest economic shock since the last depression. He emphasized the government's efforts to manage the economic challenges during the pandemic.

The Minister of Information highlighted the period from 2017 to 2019, stating that the removal of “nuisance taxes” in 2017 resulted in increased productivity. He explained that the unprecedented borrowing in 2020 was necessary to keep the Ghanaian economy functioning during the global economic shocks brought about by the pandemic.

The government faced public criticism following the imposition of new taxes, prompting the suspension of the 15% Value Added Tax (VAT) on the domestic consumption of electricity. The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCO) were directed to put the charging of the levy on hold.