Features
E-levy mass education: Urgently required!!!
On Thursday, 31st March, 2022, the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo -Addo signed the ‘controversial’ Electronic Transaction Levy (E-levy) Bill into law.
This was followed by its ‘controversial’ passage by Ghana’s hung Parliament on Tuesday, 29th March, 2022.
So, it is now a new law in our nation’s revenue generation books.
Being a brand new tax law which has generated a lot of nation-wide ‘heat’ and ‘misconceptions’, many Ghanaians hold the view that it must be properly and adequately explained to the mass of the people before its application.
According to the Minister of Finance, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, the implementation of the E-levy begins on the 1st of May, 2022.
So, really the E-levy takes effect in May and it is expected that by that time, the Ghana Revenue Authority would have fully prepared to begin its actualisation process.
The E-levy now imposes a 1.5 per cent tax on a value of daily electronic transactions above GH¢100.
This new tax falls in the bracket of Mobile Money (MoMo), merchant transactions, bank transfers, all points of sale and inward remittances.
In November 2021, the Finance Minister announced Government’s plan to introduce the E-levy during the 2022 budget presentation to Parliament.
He stated that the E-levy was necessary to “widen the tax net” which would increase the country’s tax to GDP rate from 13 per cent to 16 per cent or more.
Contrary to the Government’s good intentions and positive predictions, critics say the imposition of the E-levy would derail the development of e-commerce in Ghana.
As the Government insists that the E-levy would be a ‘turn-key drive’ for Ghana’s ailing economy, especially with respect to the country’s high debt profile, a section of the Ghanaian populace have ‘saluted’ the new levy with disapproval.
For instance, the Opposition legislators in Parliament are still vehemently opposing the new tax , claiming that “it will exacerbate the country’s harsh living conditions” , besides bankrupting small enterprises.
Some protestors against the E-levy, calling themselves Coalition of Concerned Ghanaians also took to the principal streets of Accra and ended up in Parliament with a petition.
Other critics also say , the implementation of the E-levy would have negative impact on general businesses and impede the functioning of Ghana’s financial system and the real economy.
They argue that there would be a return to increased cash transactions and might ‘entice’ Ghanaians who do not have bank accounts, back to the old bad days of their financial exclusion.
Some analysts contend that the stance of the Opposition legislators on the E-levy, might have recently influenced many people to “panic-withdraw” their money from their mobile money wallets so that their funds could escape taxation.
Dr Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah, a Governance lecturer at the Central University says:”The Finance Minister has promised Ghanaians that when the E-levy is collected, he and his Government will be accountable to the people. We will hold him responsible to that statement.
” The Finance Minister must be accountable to the citizens of Ghana on what and how the E-levy would be used for, to the benefit of our country”, stressing that “he must remain truthful to Ghanaians.”
A former Deputy Managing Director of the National Investment Bank, Mr Alfred Thompson, also contends that, “Ghana cannot continue to borrow funds from external sources to develop, therefore, the E-levy is timely to bolster the economy through revenue generation.
“However, Ghanaians must demand probity and accountability from Government when the implementation of the E-levy begins.”
Others are also asking the Government to boldly inscribe “E-levy” on every visible project that will be funded by the new tax and cited the inscription of “HIPC” on projects funded by the HIPC funds during President Kofuor’s regime.
The Government, however, assures that the new levy will hugely inure to the benefit of the country, emphasising that it will principally be used to support the country’s infrastructural development.
Indeed, this column supports the view that the Ministry of Finance should mount intensive series of country-wide mass education campaigns, using the appropriate mass media channels, communication specialists and tax experts to explain the new tax system to ease its understanding and application.
It is the contention of this column that failure to properly educate the mass of the people about the new tax will result in non-achievement of the purpose for which the tax was ‘crafted’ and the target set for its generation.
The Finance Ministry should, therefore, “invest ” adequately in the mass education of the people to whet their appetite to be ‘salivating’ to ‘taste’ the new ‘tax-soup’ with ‘style’.
Contact email/ WhatsApp of the author:
asmahfrankg@gmail.com (0505556179)
By G. Frank Asmah
Attention-Deficit or Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is often mistaken for laziness or indiscipline. In consulting rooms across Accra and in reports from school teachers, the pattern repeats: children who are bright but forgetful, parents who feel helpless, teachers who see incompleteness.
Research is clear-Barkley (2015) and others describe ADHD as a difference in the brain’s regulation of alertness, impulse and working memory, not a lack of effort.
The family’s role begins with structure. Regular sleep, predictable meal and homework times, and a simple visual list (uniform → books → water → corridor) provide the external scaffolding of these children need. Praise what is completed—“You opened the book and wrote the first sentence”-instead of rebuking what is missing.
Schools can help by seating the child front-row and centre, giving short written plus verbal instructions, allowing brief movement breaks, using quiet nonverbal cues and, where possible, grading effort and method as well as neatness. These adjustments reduce conflict and raise submission rates without lowering standards.
Couples and caregivers should share roles: one grounds, one pivots, and both protect rest. Shame-“bad parenting, bad child”-needs replacing with fact: different wiring, needs scaffolding.
Outcomes improve not by promises of perfection but by daily routines, clear limits and warmed connection. One homework slot kept, one instruction chunked, one calm repair after blurting-these small wins shift the family climate and let the child be seen beyond the label.
Resource
• CPAC (award-winning Mental Health and Counselling Facility): 0559850604 / 0551428486
Source: REV. COUNSELLOR PRINCE OFFEI’s insights on special needs support, relationships, and mental health in Ghana. He is a leading mental health professional, lecturer, ADR Expert/Arbitrator, renowned author, and marriage counsellor at COUNSELLOR PRINCE & ASSOCIATES CONSULT (CPAC COUNSELLOR TRAINING INSTITUTE) – 0551428486 /0559850604.
WEBSITES:
https://princeoffei22.wixsite.com/author
https://princeoffei22.wixsite.com/website
After two weeks of hectic activity up north, I drove to the Tamale airport, parked the car at the Civil Aviation car park as usual, paid the usual parking fee and boarded the plane for Accra.
Over the last two weeks, I had shuffled between three sites where work was close to completion.
One was a seed warehouse, where farmers would come and pick up good quality maize, sorghum and other planting material.
The other was a health facility for new mothers, where they were given basic training on good nutrition and small scale business.
And the third was a set of big boreholes for three farming communities.
The projects usually ran on schedule, but a good deal of time was spent building rapport with the local people, to ensure that they would be well patronised and maintained.
It was great to be working in a situation where one’s work was well appreciated. But it certainly involved a lot of work, and proactivity. And I made sure that I recorded updates online before going to bed in the evening.
When the plane took off, my mind shifted to issues in Accra, the big city. The young guys at my office had done some good work. They had secured five or six houses on a row in a good part of the city, and were close to securing the last.
When we got this property, unusually, Abena greeted them casually, and appeared to be comfortable in the guy’s company.
I was quite disappointed to hear that, because until the last few weeks, it seemed as if Abena and I were heading in a good direction. Apart from the affection I had for her, I liked her family. I decided to take it easy, and allow things to fall in whatever direction.
Normally I would take a taxi to her house from the airport, and pick her up to my place. This time I went to my sisters’ joint, where they sat by me while I enjoyed a drink and a good meal.
“So Little Brother,” Sister Beesiwa said, “what is it we are hearing about our wife-to-be?”
“When did you conclude that she was your wife-to-be? And what have you heard? I’ve only heard a couple of whispers. Ebo and Nana Kwame called to say that they have seen her in the company of—”
“Well said Little Brother,” Sister Baaba said. “By the way, Nana Kwame called an hour ago to ask if you had arrived because he could not reach you. Someone had told him that Jennifer had boasted to someone that she had connected Abena to a wealthy guy who would take care of her.”
I was beginning to understand. For some time, Abena had been asking me what work I was doing up north, and after I had explained it to her, she kept asking. So I think Jennifer fed her with false stories about me in order to get her to move to the Ampadu guy. Jennifer must have been well compensated for her efforts.
“In that case,” Sister Beesiwa said, “you should be glad that Abena is out of your way. She is easily swayed. Anyone who would make a relationship decision based on a friend’s instigation lacks good sense. I hope the guy is as wealthy as they say?”
“Who gets wealthy running a supermarket chain in Ghana?” Sister Baaba said. “Our supermarkets sell mostly imported products. Look at the foreign exchange rate. And remember that Ghanaians buy second-hand shoes and clothes. Supermarkets are not good business here. Perhaps they are showing off that they are wealthy, but in reality they are not doing so well.”
“Amen to that,” I said. “I’m beginning to understand. For some time, Abena had been asking me what work I was doing up north, and after I had explained it to her, she kept asking. So I think Jennifer fed her with false stories about me in order to get her to move to the Ampadu guy. Jennifer must have been well compensated for her efforts.”
She said that David Forson was only an agricultural extension worker in the north who did not have the resources to take care of a beautiful girl like her. And apart from being wealthy, the guy comes from an influential family, so Abena had done much better leaving a miserable civil servant like you for him.
“Amen to that,” I said. “I’m beginning to understand. For some time, Abena had been asking me what work I was doing up north, and after I had explained it to her, she kept asking. We would be able to sell all five houses to one big corporate customer, and we had already spoken to a property dealer who was trying to find a buyer in order to get a good commission.
That was going to be my biggest break. I had asked the boys to look for a large tract of land on the outskirts of the city where we could develop our own set of buildings, blocks of storey houses and upscale apartments. Things were going according to plan, and I was quietly excited. However, things were not going so well regarding my relationship with Abena.
My buddies Ebo and Nana Kwame had called to say that they met Abena and her friend Jennifer enjoying lunch with a guy, and Ebo believed that Jennifer was ‘promoting’ an affair between Jennifer and the guy. They were of the view that the promotion seemed to be going in the guy’s favour, because only an agricultural extension worker in the north who did not have the resources to take care of a beautiful girl like her.
And apart from being wealthy, the guy comes from an influential family, so Abena had done much better leaving a miserable civil servant like you for him.
“As I’ve already said, I will stop by her place, but I will mind my own business from now. Hey, let’s talk family. How are our parents? And my brothers-in-law? And my nephews and nieces? Why don’t we meet on Sunday? I’m going to drop my bags at my place, and go to see Mama and Dad.”
