Gov’t Reportedly Paying Private Company US$40m Illegally Collect E-Levy Money

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Ningo Prampram, Hon. Sam George Nartey, has revealed an illegal move by the Akufo-Addo government to contract a private company, Express Pay, to collect e-levy deductions.

Speaking as a panelist on Accra-based Metro TV, Mr. George claimed the government has entered a US$ 40million contract with the company.

However, the Ningo Prampram MP points out that per the law, the government cannot contract a private company for tax revenue collection.

“They set up a technical committee at the GRA to execute this, but if you read the law, the e-levy law that they claim they passed illegally in Parliament, in that law, 6(2) is saying that they cannot contract a private company for revenue assurance or collection purposes. However, they are dealing with a private company called Express Pay to do the collection and build a monitoring platform for them which they are going to buy; they want to buy for 40million dollars,” he charged.

It appears the government has been jolted into realization that per the law, Express Pay cannot be used for revenue assurance or the collection and so according to Sam George, some people in government have gone to the Registrar General’s Department to change the shareholding structure of Express Pay.

“The individuals who are sitting at the Ministry of Finance, Technocrats, people at GRA who think that this is chop-chop, Randy this one it will hook them here… it will hook them they can’t swallow it because we will expose every single little bit of it,” Sam George warned.-

It would be recalled that following the illegal passage of the e-levy by a one-sided Parliament of NPP MPs who did not have the numbers to form a quorum, some Ghc 241million was provided in the Bill for companies that would be contracted to monitor and collect the taxes.

Whatsup News, together with others pointed out the strange provision wondering why the government would hire private companies to monitor and collect the revenue even though the country has the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) which is constitutionally mandated to collect taxes in the country.

Later the Finance Ministry would respond by claiming that money would be given to the GRA for the monitoring and collection services. However, according to Sam George, that same money is going to Express Pay which apparently is linked to persons in the Akufo-Addo government.

Meanwhile, Sam reveals that local telcos have made it clear that very complex algorithms that are required to make the e-levy monitoring and transactions work are simply impossible with the currently available infrastructure and the rather too early deadline of May 1 for the start of implementation.

Also, the government itself has not even been able to make available security architecture for the system to the telcos.

“The system is supposed to be a number of algorithms. 75% of all mobile transactions are USSD-based. Normally from the time you pick up your phone to the time it hits the other person’s phone, is 90 seconds,” he said.

“When I pick my phone and am sending, what the algorithm has to read, is Sam sending to himself, are those two accounts linked to the same Ghana card? If no, is he sending to a third party? Is that third party a merchant or he is an agent? If yes don’t charge, if no then charge.”

Already, four minority MPs are in court seeking an injunction against the implementation of the e-levy.