German Finance Minister calls on G20 to form Creditor Committee on Ghana’s debts Pg
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By Willem H. Buiter
TUESDAY 7 February 2023 Issue No. 11
A NEW THINKING
IMF bailout: Minority raises alarm over a looming 3million job loss Minority Chief Whip Kwame Governs Agbodza has alleged that the government plans to cancel or suspend some 60 projects as a result of conditionalities in the negotiations for a $3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) economic programme. He also disclosed that the suspension of the said projects would lead to about 3 million job losses hence the need for the government to be transparent about the conditions of the IMF deal. Addressing a press conference in Accra on Monday, the Adaklu MP questioned why government officials were negotiating the deal in secrecy. ".......as we sit here, a series of
meetings have taken place with a close group of people in the NPP where about sixty projects and programmes are going to either be suspended or cancelled. These projects include the Obetsebi Lamptey road extension, the La and Shama General Hospital projects, the Tema Motorway Road project, and the Adomi Bridge project.” "Nobody knows what Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, and the Head of the Economic Management Team Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia is negotiating for," he said. “You will be surprised this government paid some of the developers 15 per cent to 20 per cent mobilization fees and the contractors are sitting in their offices
drinking tea because the government is unable to tell them whether to go ahead because the Finance Minister basically asked them to suspend all those projects and we are currently losing value because the contractors have taken the money and no work is currently going on.” He also demanded transparency in the selection of these projects for either suspension or cancellation. “What are the underlying principles of the selection of the projects the NPP wants to cancel, suspend or go ahead with? We all have to have an understanding of this because the lack of understanding creates anxiety.”
MTN Ghana reviews Stanbic Bank is number one for tariffs upward Personal and utes will now give customers 23.9 minutes, whilst a three cedis data bundle which previously gave customers 471 MBs will now give customers 401 MBs.
MTN has announced an upward review of the tariffs of its products and services effective February 07, 2023. The review is as result of two changes. Firstly, the implementation of the 2.5% statutory adjustment of VAT from 12.5% to 15% across all services. This will impact both Prepaid and Post-paid customers. Secondly, MTN Ghana is proceeding with a 15% average upward review of its mobile data tariffs which was originally announced in November 2022 and was subsequently put on hold. The increase in mobile data tariffs will impact both Pay Monthly and Pay-As-You-Go users. The review in mobile data bundle offers cover products available on the short codes 138 & 170, as well as on purchases through
Electronic Voucher Distribution (EVD), MTN Pulse, and Data Zone except for XtraTime. The data tariff increases do not apply to Fiber Broadband and Fixed Wireless Access (4G Router / Turbonet) customers. With this review, voice users will receive less airtime due to the VAT implementation, and mobile data customers will receive less data bundle allocations for the same price purchased before the tariff increase was made. The Chief Commercial Officer for MTN, Mr. Noel Kojo-Ganson, explained the impact by giving an example of how the new pricing will work. He said, following the review, a three cedis airtime purchase before the VAT increase, which previously gave customers 24.4 min-
Modernization of regulatory frameworks critical for universal broadband coverageMTN Group Boss Pg 3
Business Customers
Explaining the reason for the upward review of the Data Bundle prices, Mr. Noel Kojo-Ganson said the review was necessitated by the recent economic shifts leading to increasing cost of operations largely due to continuous increase in inflation. “These economic shifts have impacted us directly and for us to ensure we have the right balance for sustaining growth and investments into the network, we have had to consider price increases in various segments of our business.” Mr. Kojo-Ganson added, “MTN recognises that we are in very tough times and would like to assure our customers that we will continue to offer them the convenience and flexibility in the purchase of data bundles at their desired price points via the MTN Flexi and Non-Expiry Bundles. Also, customers will continue to enjoy the 50% bonus incentive on mobile data purchases via MyMTN App & MoMo (valid for 7 days) for 4G customers”. MTN remains committed to investing USD1 Billion by 2025 to continue its network expansion and improve the network experience for customers. In line with our Ambition 2025 strategy, our purpose is to lead digital solutions for Africa’s progress.
eTranzact wins ‘Leading Fintech Solution Provider’ in Ghana Pg 3
Stanbic Bank Ghana has emerged as the highest rated Ghanaian bank for overall service quality for personal and business customers in the 5th Ghana Customer Service Index (GCSI), a survey conducted by The Institute of Customer Service Professionals (ICSP). The GCSI 2022 measured customer satisfaction, its causes, and effects as well as implications, for sectors. The survey which was conducted amongst 188 companies from 11 different sectors showed that out of 16 banks, Stanbic Bank Ghana Limited came tops with an overall score of 81.4%. 2
UKGCC applauds the inauguration of the Independent Tax Appeals Board in Ghana The UK-Ghana Chamber of Commerce (UKGCC), a member-based trade association that promotes trade between the UK and Ghana, has applauded the inauguration of the Independent Tax Appeals Board (ITAB) in Ghana by the government. The Board, created in accordance with the Revenue Administration (Amendment) Act, 2020 (Act 1029), will tackle tax disputes and appeals against objection decisions of the Ghana Revenue Authority. 2
Anthony Pile MBE, Chairman of the UKGCC Executive Council, remarked, "we hope that this will enhance revenue mobilisation, through speedy adjudication, accuracy, and fairness in tax dispute resolution". "This is welcoming news for businesses and investors in Ghana, as taxpayers will be given a chance to have a fair hearing of their cases and a determination of the proper amount of their liabilities by an independent body, before being required to pay them".