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f E-levy has become a nuisance tax, scrap it – Dr Duffuor tells government
A former Finance Minister, Dr Kwabena Duffuor has advised the government to scrap the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy) if it is not raking in the needed revenue.
According to him, there is no need for the government to keep such a tax.
In an interview with Citi TV on Wednesday, Dr Duffuor insisted that the controversial levy should be abolished immediately if it has become a nuisance tax.
“We need to ask ourselves, are we getting enough from it? If we are not getting enough from it, then it is a nuisance tax, and we should scrap it.”
Meanwhile, data from the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) indicates that the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy) implemented in May 2022 raked in ¢861.47 million as of March 2023.
The controversial levy in the first year of implementation at a rate of 1.5% accrued ¢614.57 million.
However, in the first three months of 2023, the levy brought in ¢246.9 million for the state.
According to the data from the GRA, the E-levy registered ¢53.58 million in revenue in the first month (May 2022) of its implementation.
It further shot up to ¢59.23 million in June 2022 and consistently rose in July 2022 (¢65.0 7million), August 2022 (¢71.29 million), September 2022 (¢78.95 million), October 2022 (¢85.73 million) and November 2022 (¢93.3 million) respectively.
The E-levy inflows breached the one hundred million cedis mark to record ¢106.79 million in December 2022.
It however began the year recording lower revenue than in December 2022. This was after the rate was revised to 1%, from 1.5%.
E-levy records ¢246.9 million in quarter 1, 2023
In January 2023, the E-Levy inflow was estimated at ¢85.93 million.
It subsequently fell to ¢73.99 million, about 13.9% decline in February 2023.
However, in March 2023, the E-Levy amounted to ¢86.98 million, bringing the total collections in the first quarter of 2023 to ¢246.9 million.
The government had set a target of about ¢7 billion for E-levy in 2022. But the delay in implementation compelled it to review the target several times to about ¢800 million in the first month of implementation.
Despite the uproar about the implementation of the E-Levy, total mobile money transactions exceeded ¢1 trillion in 2022.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
The Dzidula Pink Foundation, a new organisation dedicated to cancer awareness, early detection, and patient support, has been officially launched in Accra, with a passionate call for national commitment to fighting the disease. The launch event, held last week Friday, carried the theme: “Beyond the diagnosis: A future of restoration, care and courage.”
Speaking at the event, Madam Abena Brigidi, founder and CEO of Nimed Capital Limited, emphasised that cancer remains one of the most devastating health challenges facing families across the country. “Cancer does not discriminate—it affects mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons. It drains families emotionally and financially, and behind every statistic is a human story and a future suddenly thrown into uncertainty,” she said.
Sharing her personal encounters with cancer, having lost both her husband and father to the disease, Madam Brigidi highlighted the emotional, financial, and physical scars left behind. “I stand here not just as a speaker, but as a witness to what cancer can take away,” she stated. “I have watched loved ones fight bravely, and I have felt the deep pain that loss leaves behind.”
She stressed that awareness and early detection are critical to reducing deaths, noting that many Ghanaians still lack access to proper screening, reliable information, and adequate treatment. She appealed to healthcare professionals, corporate institutions, policymakers, the media, and the general public to join hands in the fight. “Early detection saves lives. Your support today can lead to someone’s healing tomorrow,” she said.
Madam Brigidi further called for collective responsibility to sustain the foundation’s mission. “To our medical professionals, we need your expertise. To corporate partners, your resources. To the media, your voice. To policymakers, your support. And to the public, your compassion,” she urged. She also insisted that breast cancer awareness should not be limited to annual campaigns, saying, “Breast cancer awareness must not be seasonal.”
Mrs Diana Fafa Gozo, founder of the Dzidula Pink Foundation, shared her own cancer journey, describing the shock of diagnosis, the fear that followed, and the difficult path through treatment. Her experience transformed her pain into purpose and inspired her to create a foundation to ensure no cancer patient walks alone.
Mrs Gozo explained that many patients struggle not only with treatment costs but also with emotional resilience. She outlined the foundation’s initiatives, which include awareness and early detection campaigns, patient support funds, community outreach, and survival support circles. “This foundation is my offering of gratitude, courage, and compassion and a reminder that no one should walk the cancer journey alone,” she concluded.
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
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The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) says it will deploy teams of Public Health Officers, members of its Sanitation Taskforce, and labourers, including sweepers and janitors, across all sub-metros to support the third National Sanitation Day exercise.
It explained that these teams will be equipped with waste collection trucks, tippers, and other tools to help with desilting, refuse collection, and transporting waste to approved disposal sites.
The AMA reminded residents that failing to comply with the sanitation directive or refusing to participate in communal labour is an offence.
It said offenders risk a fine of up to 100 penalty units, imprisonment between 30 days and six months, or both, with repeat offenders liable to additional daily penalties.
It urged all residents, traders, transport operators, market women, shop owners, landlords, tenants, and businesses to actively participate in the exercise.
The AMA said it counts on everyone’s collective responsibility to keep Accra clean, liveable, and resilient, especially as the city approaches Christmas and the New Year.
By: Jacob Aggrey
