Minister of Communications and Digitalization, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has revealed that over 333million Mobile Money (MoMo) transactions have been undertaken between 1st and 24th January this year.
The value for the transactions for this period is 75billion cedis, she said.
Making a case for the introduction of the E-levy in the 2022 budget statement while speaking at the government’s townhall meeting held in Koforidua on Thursday January 27, she said “It is no longer a luxury, it has become an indispensable tool for transacting any kind of business , it is not just for entertainment, it is a working tool, it is your bank in your pocket, it is your office in your pocket, it is your source of correspondence, among other things.
“The overall value of transactions was estimated to be over 500 billion compared to 257bn in 2019 and only 79 bn in 2016 , just five years ago.
“Today, as we speak, and we have the data for mobile money transactions from 1st to 24th January, 333m plus Mobile Money transactions have been conducted just this year alone, from 1st to 24 January and the value of over 75 billion cedis has been transacted just for this year alone and the month has not even ended. I don’t have the comparable figures for the banks.”
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful further indicated that If Ghana does not wean itself from seeking aid from other courtiers, foreigners will continue to dictate the pace of the country’s development.
She stated that in order to be truly independent, Ghana would need to increase domestic revenue mobilisation to undertake the needed development.
the Ablekuma West Member of Parliament said ” so long us we depend on loans they will dictate the pace of our developments.”
“We need to find the way to increase domestic revenue mobilisation,” she added.
“We are talking about a Ghana beyond aid, we need to be able to finance our own development and stop the dependence on either loans or grants or aid from other countries if we are to be truly independent.”
The Townhall Meeting forms part of the stakeholder engagement the government is undertaking on the E-levy proposal.
The Majority Leader in Parliament Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu had Parliament on Tuesday January 25 that further stakeholder consultations were ongoing on the proposal hence the inability of the Business Committee to programme it during the first week of the first setting of the second session.
The Business Committee, he said, hoped to programme the proposal for consideration in the second week after the engagement.
The Suame Lawmaker explained the absence of the E-levy proposal on the Order Paper saying “Mr Speaker, as Honourable members will recall the House was expected to conclude consideration and passing of the electronic transfer levy bill 2021 by the end of the third meeting for the first session.
“Due to unforeseen circumstances however, the House was unable to consider and pass the bill at the end of of the meeting. It was therefore the contemplation of the Business Committee that the Bill will be scheduled for consideration by the House during the First week of the first meeting of the second session.
“However upon consultation with the sponsoring Minister the committee is not unable to programme same for this week after resumption.
“The Honorable Minister of Finance has been undertaking further engagement with stakeholders and sections of the general public with respect of some concerns that have been raised on the bill
“The committee, in all probability, will programme the bill for consideration in the second week of this meeting and honorable members are therefore encouraged to participate fully in the consideration and the process of the passage of the bill.”
Source: 3news
