Kwame Pianim, a well-known economist and founding member of the ruling New Patriotic Party, has slammed Communications Minister Ursula Owusu-claim Ekuful’s that anyone who performs a mobile money transaction worth more than GH100 is not poor.
According to Kwame Pianim, the minister’s statement is blank because it does not specify if the amount is the person’s income.
“You sit down and claim that someone sending GH100 is wealthy and must pay the e-levy, but what if the person’s turnover is the same as the GH100? What is the profit margin on that sum? For example, suppose someone earns GH5 every day. Multiply that by 30 to get GH1500, then divide by six to get $20. That’s the person’s monthly income, and she thinks you’re not poor?” He interrogated.
Kwame Pianim chastised Parliament for failing to demonstrate care for Ghanaians’ predicament.
He said that the 2021 Appropriations Bill for the 2022 fiscal year was approved by the house because they will benefit from it.
“When they get to Parliament, do they know what poverty is? We pay them well. Parliamentarians benefit from expenditures so is that why they approved the appropriation.”
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Ursula Owusu-Ekuful on November 18 said government was right to impose charges on mobile money transaction as the sector has become a ripe one for movement of money.
“So if you really are poor and you are in a position to send a GH¢100 a day, then we need to re-classify our definition of who really the beneficiaries of these are. And it is only the sender who pays, not the recipient. Unlike the telcos where both the sender and receiver pay.
“So if you are looking at bulk payments, cashouts, person to person transfers, wallet to bank transfers, as of October we are looking at about GH¢11 million, if you are looking at the merchants, debit payments, sending, transfers, transfers to vouchers and the cashouts we are looking at GH¢440 million.
“If you are looking at GHIPSS, and merchant payments and direct debit payments and organisations paying to customers and paying bills and sending money we are looking at GH¢45 million so in total it is possible for the government to get about GH¢500 million from this in a month,” she explained on GhOne.
Meanwhile Parliament has suspended deliberations on the levy that will see Ghanaians pay a 1.75% charge on any electronic transaction that exceeds GH¢100.
The house has deferred voting on the matter to January 18, 2022 when it resumes sitting.
