CDM Tells Mahama To Cancel Covid Tax

The Centre for Democratic Movement (CDM) has reminded the President John Mahama led-Government to abolish the controversial COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy as promised during the 2024 presidential campaign.

According to a statement issued on Sunday May 11, 2025 by CDM, it is a betrayal of trust of the Ghanaian people if the National Democratic Congress (NDC), after wining the elections, decided it would not fulfil its campaign promise of scrapping the said COVID tax.

Speaking on the matter, President Mahama in his address to the nation last Wednesday explained that conditions under Ghana’s ongoing International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme makes it difficult to immediately remove that COVID tax although some other taxes have been abolished as promised during the campaign.

Below is the full statement issued by the CDM:

PRESS STATEMENT

The Centre for Democratic Movement (CDM) expresses grave disappointment in the failure of President John Dramani Mahama and his administration to fulfil their unequivocal campaign promise to abolish the COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy. This inaction, despite the moral and political weight of their commitment, represents a profound breach of public trust and a troubling indication of the government’s disregard for the socio-economic suffering of Ghanaians.

I. THE PROMISE THAT BROUGHT HOPE

During the 2024 election campaign, then-candidate John Dramani Mahama made no uncertain terms about the fate of the COVID-19 levy. Addressing the nation in several campaign platforms, he declared:

“The COVID-19 levy is a needless tax. It must be abolished to ease the burden on the Ghanaian people.”

This pledge was not merely rhetorical flourish; it became one of the NDC’s most repeated talking points, echoed in policy outlines, televised debates, and rallies. Ghanaians, groaning under rising inflation, fuel hikes, and general economic hardship, embraced this promise as a beacon of relief.

Now in office, the President and his economic managers have reversed course, citing the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme as justification for the levy’s continued imposition. This is not only unacceptable; it is unconscionable.

II. A VIOLATION OF TRUST AND ETHICAL GOVERNANCE

The moral basis of political leadership rests on a covenant between the elected and the electorate. That covenant is built on truth, consistency, and integrity. The abandonment of this campaign promise is not simply a matter of policy adjustment; it is a betrayal of trust.

As Mahatma Gandhi once said,

“A man is but the product of his thoughts; what he thinks, he becomes.”
In governance, promises are not mere thoughts; they are commitments. A president who reneges on solemn pledges risks becoming a symbol of expediency, not principle.

III. CONSTITUTIONAL AND DEMOCRATIC IMPLICATIONS

Article 36(1) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana enjoins the state to “take all necessary steps to ensure the realization of the right to work, the right to good health care and the right to a decent standard of living.” The continued imposition of the COVID-19 levy, especially when the health emergency it was meant to address has abated, contradicts this constitutional directive.

Furthermore, Ghana is a signatory to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which places an obligation on the state to use the maximum of its available resources to progressively realize economic rights. Maintaining a regressive tax that disproportionately affects the poor is incompatible with these international commitments.

IV. A CALL TO ACTION

We, the conveners of the Centre for Democratic Movement, call on the Mahama administration to immediately:
1. Present to Parliament a clear roadmap for the complete abolition of the COVID-19 levy within the shortest possible time, independent of IMF pressure;
2. Issue a public apology to the Ghanaian people for the failure to act with integrity on a major campaign promise;
3. Reaffirm, through legislation and economic policy, its commitment to transparent, accountable, and ethical governance.

To continue collecting this levy while citing IMF conditions; after declaring it “needless” and “unjustifiable”; is not only contradictory, but demeaning to the intelligence and dignity of the very citizens who entrusted this government with power.

As the African proverb says,

“The axe forgets; the tree remembers.”

Ghanaians remember the words spoken on campaign platforms. They remember the hope. They remember the promise.

We urge the President: Live up to the ideals you professed. Choose integrity over convenience. Restore trust, and let your legacy reflect leadership with moral courage.

— Signed —
Conveners, Centre for Democratic Movement