E-Levy: Ghanaians must demand accountability, says former NIB boss

The former deputy MD of the National Investment Bank (NIB), Alfred Thompson, has asked Ghanaians to demand accountability when the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy) takes off.

He said Ghana cannot continue to borrow funds from external sources and therefore the E-Levy is timely to bolster the economy through revenue generation.

“For us to transform a country, we need to send a country to another level; do we keep on borrowing all the time just to run our country?” Thompson, who doubles as an activist of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), said on The Forum – Asaase Radio’s news analysis and current affairs show – on Saturday (2 April).

“Then how do we pay the debts? Because we don’t have the much-needed factories and we don’t do the bigger exports as we should be doing to get those trade deficits and things to pay our debts. So, where do we get the money from? Why don’t we now start looking within? It is high time we get money from within and stop this borrowing and control from outside.

“Let our people control our leaders. When you think there is a leader who’s not spending your money well, you kick him out. That’s why every four years, the voting patterns show whether the leader is good or not,” Thompson said.

Accountability is essential
Thompson added: “I think we should borrow from within; we should take from within and have the controls from within. Let the people decide, let the people talk, let the people express their opinion every four years saying that listen ‘you took the money, I don’t know what you did with it. Accountability is essential, probity is essential so, we want you to go and let someone else come.’ So, I am in full support [of the E-Levy].”

Akufo-Addo assents to E-Levy bill
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has assented to the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy) bill to officially make it a law.

Speaking to Beatrice Adu on The Big Bulletin on Thursday (30 March), Palgrave Boakye-Danquah, the government spokesperson on governance and security said the president signed the bill into law on Thursday, 31 March 2022.

“I confirm this to the good people of the Republic of Ghana that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the final stage; which is like the eight of bringing a bill into law, has assented to the bill.”

E-Levy to start in May
According to him, beginning 1 May 2022, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) will start collecting the levy.

“So, the bill takes effect in May, by which time we would have done all our work in terms of GRA being prepared to immediately start the taxation process,” he said.