The Government of Ghana is awaiting disbursement of US$370 million in the coming days, this being the fourth tranche of the ongoing three year International Monetary Fund External Credit Facility programme.
The government has expressed optimism of the IMF Board’s approval, based on a successful staff level agreement last month and the current state of the Ghanaian economy which has been touted as an unprecedented recovery with almost all macroeconomic indicators showing positive results.
This is crucial money which the government eagerly awaits as it paid almost the same amount to service its restructured Eurobond debt last week. Upon the Board’s approval for the disbursement of approximately US$370 million, total disbursement under the ECF will be around US$2.4 billion from the start of the Programme in May 2023.
“The review is pivotal for the country”, Presidential Advisor on the economy, Seth Terkper said in an interview. “We came in as a new government with some experience to complete the fourth review of the IMF programme. It will be going to the board this July. All indications including the staff who came into the country are saying that we think things have gone well and various structural measures and benchmarks and things have been met which means you can be cautiously optimistic that the IMF board will pass the programme and get some injection into the economy.”
The optimism follows the IMF’s confirmation that a staff-level agreement was reached with Ghanaian authorities on April 15 after the fourth programme review. IMF Communications Director Julie Kozack at an earlier press briefing stated that upon approval by its executive board, Ghana will be scheduled to receive about US$370 million, bringing total support under the ECF to US$2.4 billion since May 2023.
Market watchers say the anticipated approval is a vote of confidence in Ghana’s fiscal reforms and structural adjustment efforts, which include domestic revenue mobilization, expenditure rationalization, and debt restructuring.
Analysts add that a positive review would likely bolster investor confidence, stabilize the cedi, and further ease inflationary pressures.
Telecom operators halt E-Levy charges, boosting digital transactions.
Adnan Adams Mohammed
Telecommunication Operators in Ghana have been directed by the Ghana Revenue Authority to cease collection of the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy) effective April 2, 2025.
This comes as President John Dramani Mahama assented to the Electronic Transfer Levy Act, 2022 (Act 1075) and the Electronic Transfer Levy (Amendment) Act, 2022 (Act 1089) bill, which abolishes the 1% E-levy.
However, MTN Ghana, a major player in the industry, initially claimed that it could not stop the E-Levy collection for fear of breaching Bank of Ghana’s regulations explaining, the process must go through regulatory approval. Although, it has since stopped charging the levy having received the requisite regulatory directive and has made the necessary refunds in line with the demands of the Ghana Revenue Authority.
“There is a process that has to be followed. I can’t abolish E-Levy until I’m told to do it. If I do it ahead of time, the Bank of Ghana will catch me,” the CEO, Stephen Blewett said while speaking at MTN House in Accra, on Wednesday, April 2, last week. He emphasized that while the government had signaled its intention to remove the levy, telecom operators like MTN must follow official directives before making changes.
More importantly, Blewett also highlighted the negative impact of the E-Levy on mobile money transactions and expressed optimism that its removal would revitalize the sector.
“The reason for the abolishment of E-Levy is to encourage momentum in mobile money,” he explained.
He acknowledged that the tax removal is expected to boost digital transactions and financial inclusion.
“We will follow the process. And once it’s gone, mobile money will regain its strength.”
The E-Levy, initially introduced at 1.75% before being reduced to 1%, taxed electronic transactions, including mobile money payments, bank transfers, and inward remittances. Since its introduction in 2022, it has faced widespread criticism, with opponents arguing that it imposed an additional financial burden on citizens and discouraged digital transactions.
GRA, in it directive communicated the following guidelines, thus:
1. The GRA Electronic Transfer Levy Management and Assurance System (ELMAS) will automatically return a “no charge” on all transactions posted to it by entities from midnight.
2. Charging Entities must cease applying the 1% E-Levy from midnight on all their channels.
3. Charging Entities must immediately process refunds for any E-Levy amounts deducted from customers effective today, 2nd April 2025. Entities are to establish an expedited refund process to handle such cases promptly and maintain proper documentation of all refunds processed. Reports of such refunds must be submitted to GRA.
4. Charging Entities are to take the necessary steps to file and pay all outstanding E- Levy charged and collected on all transactions that occurred before 2nd April 2025.
5. For effective reconciliation and in accordance with Section 33A of the Revenue Administration Act, 2016 (Act 915) as amended, entities must continue to post all electronic transfer transactions to ELMAS until further directives are provided.
6. All entities must maintain electronic transfer records for at least six (6) years as stipulated in Section 27(3) of the Revenue Administration Act, 2016 (Act 915).
“Please be informed that failure to comply with the above directives constitutes an offence and sanctions will be imposed as prescribed by law,” GRA admonished, cautioning it “will conduct regular compliance checks to ensure adherence to these directives”, the statement signed by Edward Apenteng Gyamerah, Commissioner, Domestic Tax Revenue Division (GRA), noted.
Consequently, the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has welcomed the removal of the 1% E-Levy, stating that it will boost digital financial transactions and reduce the cost of doing business in Ghana.Ghanaian fashion
The CEO of AGI, Seth Twum Akwaboah, commended the government for its decision, highlighting its positive impact on businesses, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Seventy-five percent of our members are SMEs, and for them, digital transactions are essential. Any additional cost discourages their use. The removal of the levy will not only cut costs but also encourage more businesses to embrace digital financial services and electronic money transfers.
“It’s a commitment the President made, and now that it has been fulfilled, we look forward to seeing its impact on business growth”, the CEO of AGI said.
Also, Ing. Dr. Kenneth Ashigbey, CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, stressed the broader economic benefits of eliminating the E-Levy.
“With this removal, we expect an increase in both the volume and value of digital transactions. This growth will boost profitability for financial institutions, leading to higher corporate tax revenues for the government, “he noted.
He added: “Additionally, more digital transactions will reduce the cost of printing physical currency, benefiting the Bank of Ghana. It will also generate valuable data for policymakers to enhance fiscal and monetary strategies,”
Ing. Dr. Ashigbey also noted that the removal of the E-Levy aligns with the government’s financial inclusion strategy, fostering a more digitized economy while easing financial burdens on businesses and consumers alike.
Ghana, a West African country rich in natural resources, is in the midst of a transition to holistic landscape management to benefit national wealth and the livelihoods of its people.
Ghana’s wealth and sustainable development is strongly linked to natural capital – the plants, animals, air, soils, water and minerals on which the country and its people depend. Nature has been a major contributor and driver of economic growth and development.
In the past 40 years, Ghana’s real GDP has quadrupled. Yet, The Changing Wealth of Nations (2021) showed that natural capital per capita peaked at $9,000 in 2014, falling more than 30% to $6,000 in 2018. Likewise, the cost of environmental degradation due to the unsustainable use of land alone was 2.8 percent of 2017 GDP. If this trend continues, it will amplify destruction of the natural resource base, disproportionately impacting the poor and increasing exposure to climate risk.
Going beyond GDP
The Government of Ghana (GoG) recognized that, despite impressive GDP growth, the degradation of nature is having an impact on the future they want for their people. As a result, they are taking strategic action, in cooperation with the Global Program on Sustainability (GPS) and the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), to implement the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting in order to integrate the value of nature and its services into development and investment planning.
To successfully mainstream natural capital accounting, GoG found it was not necessary to start from scratch. It was possible to build on existing alliances by first identifying active tools, structures and partnerships that were already working well, like the Cost of Environmental Degradation Working Group. They then boosted collaboration across institutions to help spread best practices and leverage knowledge among ministries. This made it possible to build capacity more quickly among the technical officers inside the different ministries.
With the right structures in place, the next step will be to improve reliability and timeliness of data. This would provide the basis for indicators required in planning, policy, and implementation programs.
Preliminary results
Already there are several promising results. Ghana is developing land and ecosystem extent accounts, ecosystem services accounts and deriving environmentally adjusted macroeconomic indicators. As a result, GoG will be able to better target landscape restoration interventions, inform land-use planning and conservation policies, and derive key indicators for monitoring and reporting.
Transitioning towards a sustainable future
As Ghana continues to make steady progress, institutional capacity to generate quantitative and qualitative information is impacting policy decisions at all levels. It is also contributing to the success of other projects like the Ghana Landscape Restoration and Small-Scale Mining Project, financed by the World Bank, with funding from IDA, PROGREEN and EGPS.
This brings Ghana yet another step closer to its national objective of strengthening the country’s foundation for a more sustainable future.
