Only Parliament Has Authority to Impose Taxes and Levies, Says Dafeamekpor

Politics

27 May, 2026

Majority Chief Whip Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor has asserted that under Ghana’s constitutional framework, only Parliament possesses the authority to impose taxes or levies, amid intensifying debate over a proposed 0.75 per cent charge on mobile money wallet-to-bank transfers.

Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express programme on Tuesday, Mr Dafeamekpor drew a sharp distinction between the controversial charge announced by Mobile Money Fintech Limited and the now-defunct Electronic Transfer Levy, commonly known as the E-Levy, insisting the two are fundamentally different in origin and legal standing.

“Only Parliament has the mandate under the law to impose a tax or a levy — only Parliament,” he stated.

The proposed charge, which MobileMoney Limited had planned to implement from 1 June, would have seen customers pay a fee on transfers from mobile money wallets to bank accounts. The announcement triggered widespread public backlash, with many Ghanaians drawing comparisons to the E-Levy, which was scrapped by the current government after proving deeply unpopular. The Bank of Ghana subsequently intervened to suspend the implementation, directing the company to halt the charge pending further stakeholder consultations.

However, Mr Dafeamekpor argued that the comparison with the E-Levy was misleading. He pointed out that the E-Levy, despite its unpopularity, followed proper legislative procedure — it was introduced as a government-sponsored bill, debated extensively in Parliament, and passed into law.

“E-Levy came to Parliament through a bill properly sponsored by the government, defended by members of the government at the time. We fought against it in Parliament, and it was passed by Parliament,” he recalled.

The current situation, he maintained, involves a private company attempting to impose charges on financial transactions without parliamentary approval or statutory backing.

“The announcement came from a private company. I think the company is called Mobile Money Company Limited. Whether it is owned by MTN or is a subsidiary of MTN, whatever it is, a private company announced that for its service, if you are transferring money from your bank into a mobile money wallet or whatever it is, it will levy a charge of 0.75 Ghana cedis,” he explained.

Mr Dafeamekpor backed the central bank’s decision, describing it as an appropriate regulatory response.

“Now the Bank of Ghana is stepping in and saying no, you cannot get up and just impose a levy on financial transactions. If you intend to do anything like that, you will come and consult,” he said.

He went further to suggest that should any such charge require statutory backing, it would need to be brought before Parliament for legislative approval.

“In any case, if this is to be done, it has to be brought to Parliament for Parliament to enact that law to mandate any entity at all,” he added.

The Majority Chief Whip accused the Minority opposition of politicising the issue by drawing parallels with the E-Levy debate. “They are just trying to push that angle for the sake of propaganda,” he said.

The controversy highlights ongoing tensions in Ghana’s digital financial ecosystem, where the rapid growth of mobile money services has outpaced the regulatory framework governing transaction fees. The Bank of Ghana’s intervention signals a willingness to assert regulatory oversight over private financial service providers, though the fundamental question of who controls pricing in the mobile money space remains unresolved.