…As Telecom Chamber wants E-levy reduction
The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has announced a 0.34percent increase in water tariff and a 1.52percent decrease in electricity tariff to take effect on December 1, 2023.
The water tariff for residential customers increased from GHS/m³ 4.72 to 4.74, while non-residential customers moved from GHS/m³ 14.13 to 14.19.
Interestingly, the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications (GCT) is also calling on the government to lower the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-levy) from 1% to 0.5% and impose a 0.5% levy on cash-outs to align the policy with Ghana’s digital-first strategy.
The GCT, had disclosed in a statement that “Our recommendation to the Ministry of Finance is to consider reducing the levy on transfer to 0.5% and introduce a 0.5% levy on cash-outs among other proposals.”
For water sachet producers, their tariff has been hiked from GHS/m³ 22.26 to 22.34; Industrial consumers will have their tariff moved from GHS/m³ 25.29 to 25.38
This was contained in a release signed by Dr Ishmael Ackah, Executive Secretary of the PURC, following the Commission’s 2023 fourth quarter tariff review.
For electricity, residential lifeline customers (0-30kWh) will have their tariff reduced from GHS/m³ 0.64 to GHS/m³ 0.63; all residential customers (0.300kWh) will have theirs reduced from GHS/m³ 1.42 to GHS/m³ 1.40.
Dr Ackah explained that the Commission took cognizance of the cost of electricity, increased volume/ cost of chemicals for raw water treatment, the Ghana Cedi/US Dollar exchange rate, and inflation in arriving at its decision.
He lauded stakeholders for their support as it continued to implement quarterly tariff reviews through its Rate Setting Guidelines for Quarterly Review of Natural Gas, Electricity, and Water Tariffs.
Despite initial challenges, the E-levy has generated significant revenue for the government, collecting GH¢482.8 million of the targeted GH¢6.9 billion.
However, the Chamber believes further revisions are necessary to promote digital payments and align with the government’s digital transformation goals.
The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications highlighted that telcos contributed over GH¢6 billion in taxes and other payments in 2022, a 50percent increase from GH¢4 billion in 2021.
This underscores the industry’s substantial contribution to Ghana’s economy.
The GCT’s 2022 Mobile Industry Transparency Initiative report, released on November 21, 2023, details the industry’s contributions to the country’s development.
Speaking at the launch of the 2022 Mobile Industry Transparency Initiative report held on November 21, 2023, in Accra, Ghana, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunication (GCT) Ing. Dr Kenneth Ashigbey, revealed that the industry’s contribution of GH¢ 6.07 billion constitutes approximately 8.02percent of the government’s 2022 tax revenue of ¢75.71 billion, as outlined in the 2022 annual report of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
The report also found that the industry employs over 2,600 people and indirectly creates over 1.2 million jobs. This includes over 505,000 active Mobile Money Agents.
