Fisticuffs Fly in Ghana Parliament During Electronic Payments Tax Debate

Ghana lawmakers let their fists fly Monday (Dec. 20) during a parliamentary debate on a proposed electronic payments tax that has become a lightning rod since the discussion began several weeks ago, according to a Reuters report.

The 1.75% electronic levy, which would include taxes on mobile money payments, held up the passage of Ghana’s national budget amid fierce opposition.

During Monday’s debate, parliament members rushed the front of the chamber after Deputy Speaker Joseph Osei-Owusu said the tax should be debated and voted upon under the group’s “urgency” procedure. Some members threw punches and fought their colleagues during the squabble while others restrained each other.

Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has said the electronic payments tax would widen Ghana’s tax base and raise an additional 6.9 billion Ghanaian cedi ($1.15 billion) in 2022, but opponents of the proposal — who say it would cause undue harm on lower-income Ghanaians and those who are outside the traditional banking system and rely on mobile money transfers — booed and jeered when the discussion began.

Ofori-Atta has promised to continue the conversation with stakeholders on both sides about the tax.

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Meanwhile, African digital payments gateway MFS Africa announced earlier this year that it had reached more than 320 million mobile money wallets, covering an estimated 60% of all wallets in sub-Saharan Africa.

MFS Africa recently raised $100 million to accelerate its growth on the continent and internationally.  Earlier this month, telecommunications networks MTN and Airtel Africa received conditional approval to operate mobile money services in Nigeria for the first time, marking the initial step toward obtaining final licenses from the country’s central bank.