Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has said that government officials will from Thursday begin public sensitization across the nation on the need for the introduction of the e-levy.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, January 19, 2022, Ken Ofori-Atta said the move is necessary to communicate the benefits of the levy to Ghanaians.

According to him, officials from the government including himself, will embark on the public sensitisation exercise to drum home the necessity of burden-sharing for Ghana’s development.

“Beginning Thursday, a team comprising myself, colleague Ministers and other key members of government will embark on a public engagement and sensitisation campaign across the country. We intend to communicate clearly on the proposed mechanics of the e-levy, its potential benefits to the people of Ghana within the spirit of burden-sharing that must guide us in our development efforts as we move Ghana Beyond Aid,” he said.

Mr. Ofori-Atta noted that the public sentiments are that Ghana must collect its taxes to avoid debt accumulation and create employment for the youth.

For this reason, he emphasised that the government intends to “use the money to create jobs, grow our private sector to employ more of our youth, accelerate the digitalization agenda to bring more convenience to Ghanaians, enhance the security of our digital platforms, aggressively expand our road infrastructure agenda, reduce our dependence on debt and reduce the crowding out of the private sector to improve access to credit.”

He further commended the telecommunication companies for agreeing to reduce their 1% transaction charges by 0.25%.

“True to the spirit of burden sharing, the Telcos have agreed to reduce their charges by 0.25% to reduce the overall net impact of the levy on subscribers. We want to take this opportunity to thank our friends in the Telecom Industry and we believe that by this measure, we can raise the requisite resources to bolster our fiscal position while keeping an eye on transaction costs and consumer welfare and reducing the impact on the average Ghanaian and keeping the resources required for our growth agenda.”