Shortly after Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia pledged to eliminate several taxes if elected president in 2025, a photo featuring his wife, Samira, began circulating widely.
The image depicted the Second Lady alongside another woman at an evening event, with a green cake adorned with the words “E-Levy.”
The Electronic Transactions Levy (E-Levy), a contentious tax introduced in 2022, was among the levies Bawumia vowed to abolish during his lecture titled “Ghana’s Next Chapter,” held at the UPSA Auditorium in Accra on February 7, 2024.
However, reports from GhanaWeb’s investigations revealed that the specific photo of Samira with the E-Levy cake had been digitally altered, as the cake had been superimposed onto the original picture shared in February 2022.
The original photograph was captured at the birthday celebration of Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, attended by Bawumia and other prominent members of the New Patriotic Party.
Further checks on social media, particularly X (formerly Twitter), indicated that the individuals circulating the manipulated photo were predominantly affiliated with the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The NDC has strongly criticised Bawumia’s stance on these taxes, which were often met with staunch opposition from both the opposition party and the general public.
Abolition of three taxes
He said, “Taxes on gambling will be scrapped under my administration. There will be no emissions tax under my administration. 15% tax on electricity will be abolished by 2025 if it’s still under our administration.”
See the original and doctored photos below:
