Every 48 pesewas out of 1 cedi you spent on telephone call or data goes to government as taxes, levies and fees, the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications has said.

This is the reason behind the high cost of mobile telephony and data charges in the country. 

Telecom players are therefore unhappy because they are too overburdened with taxes.

Chief Executive of Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, Ken Ashigbey tells Joy Business “there are a lot of levies and fees for every one cedi that you spend. About 48 pesewas goes back to government in taxes, levies and fees even including some of the road agencies charge for allowing us to lay fibre.”

“Some of the charges from EPA [Environmental Protection Agency], charges from Radiation Protection Institute, charges from the MMDA [Metropolitan, Municipal and District Asemblies], all of them charging particular fees. If you consolidate all of them, it limits the fiscal space that is available for the industry”, he emphasized.

“So the telecommunication industry would expect to see a lot more growth with collaborative actions between the new industry and the old. We however want to see some the charges reviewed downwards”, he added.

Going forward into 2021, the telecom players are calling for more collaboration with government and its institutions before further investments are made.

Beside the reduction in taxes, they [telecom players] want consumer privacy and fresh review of regulation to enhance the business environment, amongst others.