FACT-CHECK: Was Sarah Adwoa Safo impersonated during E-Levy vote in Parliament? 

Claim: Debates on social media suggest the former Dome-Kwabenya MP was impersonated during the passing of the E-Levy. 

Source: Social media 

Verdict: False 

Researched by Alfa Shaban 

The controversy about former Member of Parliament (MP) for the Dome-Kwabenya Constituency, Sarah Adwoa Safo, being impersonated in Ghana’s Parliament in 2021 has been reignited following her recent media engagements.  

The videos showing the alleged impersonator resurfaced after the former MP indicated that she abstained from the passage of the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy) in 2022. 

“Some NPP members kicked against the E-Levy because of the hardship it would impose on ordinary Ghanaians, who are struggling to make ends meet. It did not sit well with me. I had discussions with my father, and I was torn between my church and my political party. In Dome Kwabenya, most of our church members opposed it. I took a firm decision to recuse myself,” she said on Accra-based Asempa FM on March 18, 2025.

In a news story about the development, a GhanaWeb article stated: “Her statement has also reignited discussions about an alleged impersonation incident during the E-Levy vote in Parliament. On the day of the vote, an individual wearing a mask and believed to be the MP was present in Parliament. This raised suspicions at the time, as reports suggested Adwoa Safo was abroad taking care of personal business.”

The report continued: “Following the interview, social media has been buzzing with reactions, with many questioning who was in Parliament if the former MP insists she didn’t vote. While the former gender minister maintains that she was present in Parliament but abstained from voting, her claims have been met with skepticism by some Ghanaians.”

GhanaFact monitored social media platforms and found some users asking about the identity of the masked MP in Parliament during the E-Levy vote, given that the former MP claimed she deliberately recused herself from the process. (here, here, here, here, here).

This fact-check will:

a. Establish whether the impersonation episode took place during the E-Levy vote.

b. Verify whether Adwoa Safo was in Parliament during the E-Levy vote.

Fact-check

GhanaFact observed that social media users are using two separate incidents interchangeably to depict different happenings. The two incidents being the passage of the 2022 budget in November 2021 and the approval of the E-Levy in March 2022.

2022 Budget and the alleged Adwoa Safo impersonation

Our investigation shows that the video showing the alleged impersonator of Sarah Adwoa Safo in a mask was captured during the approval of the 2022 budget and not the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy). 

Parliamentary proceedings of November 30, 2021, as shared on Parliament’s YouTube Channel show a masked Sarah Adwoa Safo seated behind the former Majority Leader during the approval of the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the government.

That budget was earlier rejected in a November 27 vote, after the Majority Group lost a voice vote and walked out of the chamber. Three days later, the Majority Group reversed the earlier decision and voted to approve the budget. Record of the passage is also captured in the November 30, 2021 Hansard.

It is worth noting that even though the E-Levy was part of the new taxes in the 2022 budget, the accompanying Bill was, however, subjected to further deliberations amid public backlash. 

Background to E-Levy

In November 2021, the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led government announced plans to tax digital transactions with the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy). The first hurdle for the tax was to have it passed in the 2022 budget statement.

The passage of the E-Levy stalled as the government undertook public engagements to get public support. In the process, they agreed to lower the original 1.75% rate to 1.5% before the Bill was presented to Parliament in March 2022.

Passage of E-Levy

On the day of the vote, there were 137 MPs apiece in the chamber because Adwoa Safo was absent, which fact is captured in the Hansard of March 30, 2022. When the Bill was tabled for voting, the Haruna Iddrisu-led Minority walked out of the chamber, stating that they were washing their hands off the E-Levy.

The E-Levy Bill was passed into law on March 29, 2022 and was subsequently assented to by then President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on March 31, 2022. 

The absence of Adwoa Safo is captured in the votes and proceedings and official report of March 31, 2022.

Adwoa Safo, in subsequent interviews, including the recent ones, has said she was not impersonated during the budget vote but emphasized that she was absent from the E-Levy vote because she disagreed with the tax handle in principle.

“One thing I will never regret is the E-Levy that I am being blamed for… E-Levy is a tax that some of us thought would not help the country. This is because my family has seen poverty before.”

In another interview with JoyNews, she said, “When I didn’t want to vote for E-levy, I wasn’t there to vote for E-levy. I am not a pushover.”

Conclusion

From the above analysis, the issue of impersonation of the MP was recorded in November 2021 during the passage of the 2022 budget while in the case of the E-Levy vote, Adwoa Safo was not in Parliament as she had returned to the United States.

Social media users were misleadingly linking the impersonation video with the matter of her absence for the E-Levy vote.

The facts show that she was not in Parliament for the E-Levy vote.

Verdict

The claim that the former lawmaker was impersonated during the E-Levy vote is False. 

The video of Adwoa Safo being allegedly impersonated was captured during the 2022 budget passage, that event and the passage of the E-Levy happened three months apart.