Industry News

MTN Ghana has raised Gh₵1,146,589,464.75 of the expected Gh₵3,478,045,900, at the end of the Initial Public Offer (IPO) representing 32.97% of the total Offer amount.

The Offer which ran from 29th May, 2018 to 31st July, 2018 consisted of a public offer of up to 4,637,394,533 ordinary shares of MTN Ghana valued at Gh₵3,478,045,900 at an Offer Price of GHS 0.75 per share (the “Offer Shares”), representing up to 35% of the issued shares of MTN Ghana after the offer.

Even though the figure has fallen short of about 67percent of the target, MTN says with investor demand exceeding the minimum (GHS 347,804,590) required to be raised for the Offer, it can be declared successful.

Speaking at a news briefing in Accra, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MTN Ghana, Selorm Adadevoh said of the 128,152 applicants, 127,826 were Ghanaians; and of the Gh₵1,146,589,464.75 raised under the Offer, Gh₵443,631,446.25, representing 38.69%, was raised from Ghanaians.

He indicated that 499 institutional applicants who bought 1,367,386,080 shares amounting to Gh₵1,025,539,560 represented 89.44percent.

Mr. Adadevoh added that the remaining 127,653 retail applicants who bought a total of 163,088,280 shares amounting Gh₵121,049,904.75 represented 10.56percent.

According to him, 108,434 applicants subscribed through the MTN Mobile Money portal representing 84.6% of the number of applicants.

He noted that the first day of trading of the MTN Ghana shares is expected to be launched on next month September 5.

The CEO emphasized that shareholders will then be able to monitor and trade their MTN Ghana shares by contacting a licensed dealing member of the Ghana Stock Exchange.

Mr. Adadevoh stated that successful applicants will be allotted all the shares they applied for. Applicants with Central Securities Depository (CSD) accounts will have their CSD accounts credited with their allotment by 4th September, 2018 by 5:00pm.

He added that IC Securities will create CSD accounts for successful applicants who did not provide details of their CSD accounts as part of their application, and their respective allotments will be credited to the respective CSD account created for them.

“A number of applicants who applied for shares have received notifications to update their identification documentation (“IDs”). Applicants who have received such notifications should visit any MTN Ghana Service Centre with updated IDs as a matter of urgency,” he posited.

Mr. Adadevoh said as a result of KYC considerations these applicants are required to update their IDs in order to be able to trade their shares from the first day of trading.

“Per the Offer prospectus, an appropriate ID is a valid national passport; a driver’s license; a national ID; a national health insurance ID or a voter’s ID. Until applicants have updated their information and ID cards, their shares will be held in a nominee account ah he CSD. After the applicants have updated their IDs, their shares will be transferred from the nominee account to their account,” he intimated.

According to him, by raising GHS 1,146,589,464.75 from 128,152 applicants, the Offer makes history as the largest primary share offer in the history of the Ghana Stock.

“This is the largest Offer ever in the history of the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE). It has doubled the size of all the IPOs put together in the history of GSE,” he posited.

Mr. Selorm Adadevoh indicated that the Offer which ran from 29th May, 2018 to 31st July, 2018 consisted of a public offer of up to 4,637,394,533 ordinary shares of MTN Ghana valued at Gh₵3,478,045,900 at an Offer Price of GHS 0.75 per share (the “Offer Shares”), representing up to 35% of the issued shares of MTN Ghana after the offer.

 

Source: www.modernghana.com

Mrs. Ursula Owusu Ekuful, the Minister of Communication has reiterated government’s resolve to extend mobile telephone services to all rural communities across the Country.
She said Ghanaians living in remote communities also deserved to be part of the digitized global community, and that, extending telecommunications infrastructure to those areas was therefore necessary.
Mrs. Ekuful made the observation at Amantia in the Asante-Akim South Municipality, as part of her working visit to the Ashanti Region.
The Minister is in the region to inspect project sites of the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC) under the Rural Telephony Project (RTP).
She would also acquaint herself with the Community Information Centres (CICs) as well as the School Connectivity Projects, in eight districts in the region.
The Asante-Akim South Municipality has four of the RTPs sites at Amantia, Banka, Bankame-Sunkwa and Gyadam with two CICs at Banso and Obogu.
The Communication Minister said the Ministry through GIFEC was extending mobile telephone services to areas of the country where access were not adequately available.
She said there were areas where licensed operators were unwilling or unable to expand their networks to due to its low commercial viability, adding that, it was the responsibility of government to fill such gaps.
The objective of the RTP, she noted, was to achieve 100 per cent mobile telephone service coverage throughout the country and to increase telephone subscribership to as many citizens as possible.
She said the provision of computers under the School Connectivity Project would facilitate Information Communication Technology (ICT) studies, which was critical to quality education.
Hopeful that the project would help raise standard of education in the area, she urged beneficiary schools to arrange with schools in surrounding communities to also use the facility as a means of reaching out to more pupils.
Mr. Abraham Kofi Asante, the Administrator of GIFEC, said a total of 100 RTP sites had been completed across the country with 29 located in the Ashanti Region.
He said the second phase would see the construction of 200 sites, out of which 30 would be in the Ashanti Region.
Osabarima Tweampomah III, Chief of Banka, commended government for the project, which he said, was a laudable intervention that had addressed many years of communication challenges.

Source: GNA

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications (GCT), Mr. Kenneth Ashigbey has called on the government to include coding as a subject in the school curricula.
According to him, coding, which is the language of technology has become the order of the new digital age; hence the need for the people to know about it at an early stage in life.
Mr. Ashigbey made the call in an interview after the launch of the Vodafone National Coding Programme in Accra last Friday.
The programme is to provide hands-on training for 10,000 young people in coding across the country.
Mr. Ashigbey said companies and individuals who did not have the basic understanding of the language for the future-coding—risked losing their jobs to artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of things (IoT) and robotics.
He added that it was not enough to be able to read and write, just as the various curricula in the primary schools have been providing. Instead, there was the need to equip young people with the basic knowledge in coding which would enable the country to have young brains that would be able to build and develop applications that were relevant in solving social problems.
“Being able to read and write is no more enough. You need to be able to code; no matter the roles you play, you would need the ability to know some level of coding to be able to say viable,” he said.
He therefore called the young people to register with the Vodafone coding programme and equip themselves to be able to stay relevant in what he described as “a very complex yet transformative digital world”.
Transformational Agenda
Earlier during the launch, a Deputy Minister of Communications, Mr. Vincent Sowah Odotei, said in a bid to place the country on a digital roadmap, the government, through the ministry, had partnered the World Bank Group to build an impact hub at the Accra Digital Centre (ADC).
He added that the ministry had also built other Enhanced Community Information Centres (ECICs) in deprived communities across the country. The centres, he said, were aimed at sending technology closer to the people, especially those who had been left out in digital experiences.
Mr. Odotei indicated that aside from equipping young people with skills in technology, the centres also provided capacity building for people with practical training on how to use the new technologies that were coming up.
“The ECICs are also aimed at creating a converging point for those in the community to go there and try their hands on electronic gadgets to feel the exciting digital experience, in addition to the children being taught how to code,” he said.
He stated that the ministry was building ICT centres in the various second cycle institutions in a bid to promote the digital transformation programme.
The programme
The Vodafone National Coding Programme is a nationwide digital programme which seeks to train young people in coding languages to prepare them for the future. The programme is also aimed at preparing people to be able to participate in building applications, websites and other social enhanced technological devices and add on to the growth of the economy.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Vodafone Ghana, Ms Yolanda Cuba, said: “if we have young people who do not have interest in coding, which is a basic language in order to partake in the new technology world, we will fall short in igniting Ghana’s digital revolution.”
She therefore called for dialogue to discuss the pragmatic ways to ensure that the country had an efficient narrative of being the digital hub of West Africa.

Source: graphic.com.gh

Accra, 24 August 2018 – Government has endorsed a National Coding Programme recently launched by Vodafone Ghana to benefit 10,000 Ghanaian youth in the next five years.

The telecommunications company on Friday August 24th, announced that the coding programme is part of a unique strategy to ignite Ghana’s digital revolution.
Globally, digital coders are reshaping the world – disrupting and demystifying previously existing myths in technology and innovation. It has become an empowerment tool; changing the way businesses operate. Vodafone, through the Foundation, is bringing this closer to the Ghanaian youth in every corner of the country in order to equip them to be competitive in the changing global world of technology.

Deputy Communications Minister, Honourable Vincent Sowah-Odotei, speaking at the launch of the programme, said:

“When we can transform the lives of the Ghanaian youth through coding; our future world of technology as a country is in safe hands. It is fulfilling that our youth can get this opportunity to become change makers with coding. Inasmuch as it is comforting for us that Vodafone is taking the lead in this, we want to also pledge that we are committed to ensuring that they will be given flexible room to operate efficiently; imbibing the latest technology and innovation to succeed whilst bringing immense benefits to our youth.”

Yolanda Cuba, Chief Executive of Vodafone Ghana said:

“We are confident that this initiative will start a revolution that will elevate Ghana from our current normal technological status to a force to be reckoned with in the future. There’s so much coders can do to change the world and today, right here, we are developing the next generation of world changers inspired by Vodafone.”

The programme, which uses Vodafone’s employees as trainers, is targeted at Ghanaian youth aged between 14 and 18 years who have a passion for technological innovation and will typically last for five days in each region.
The Central Region is the next stop for the initiative; beginning on Monday August 27th to 31st at Adisadel College. A total of 50 youth are expected to take part. Interested participants should call 0503635266 or email foundation.gh@vodafone.com

Source: vodafone.com.gh.

This story from Uganda holds great lessons for Ghana that I believe culling it from the Monitor of Uganda and relating it to the progress we have made in Ghana is very important
Over the last 18months, there has been a consistent attempt by many Governments within Sub Saharan Africa to tax mobile money and other ICT related programs and services.

Well some governments have put their tax thirst into action by the introduction of excise taxes as we have seen imposed in Kenya, Tanzania and the most recent one is Uganda. President Museveni signed into law on June 21st 2018, the Excise Duty Amendement Act 2018, which brought in the place the mobile money tax and an determined extension to social media, also called Over the Top (OTT) tax.

The law passed by the Ugandan parliament, imposed a 1 per cent tax on mobile-money transactions, including depositing, sending, receiving and withdrawal, as well as a daily Ush200 ($0.05) over-the-top tax on social media services.

After pressure from consumers, Kampala dropped three of the four levies it had imposed on mobile money transactions, and now maintains only a 0.5 per cent charge on cash withdrawals.
Impact of Mobile Money
Mobile money contributes to financial inclusion and East Africa is one of the largest mobile money markets, accounting for 56.4 per cent of total users in Sub-Saharan Africa. The service enables more efficient payments for goods and services, reduces the informal economy, creates employment and protects vulnerable segments of society from financial shocks.

The positive externalities of mobile money also drive other sectors, such as agriculture, healthcare and education and many more. In short, there are strong incentives for the Governments to support the growth of mobile money, which is the opposite of what an excise duty is typically designed to achieve. Mobile money has increased financial inclusion, particularly amongst the marginalized segments of society.

The Excise Tax (Taxation)

Excise taxes, such as those imposed in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, are typically used to address negative externalities. They are, for example, imposed on tobacco sales to discourage people from smoking and by driving businesses to raise the price of cigarettes. As the mobile sector is associated with overwhelmingly positive externalities, the same rationale cannot and should not apply.
In Tanzania, for example, 46% of mobile money users are below the poverty line. The negative impact of taxing mobile money transactions is likely to fall most heavily on these individuals.

Tax Impact for Uganda

Officials from the Bank of Uganda, this week have called the tax discriminative following their engagement with the Finance Committee on Parliament to update legislators on the performance of the mobile money tax.

The officials explained that the mobile money tax, within the first two weeks of implementation has recorded a decline in mobile money transactions with an associated value loss of $182million.

Director of statistics at the Bank of Uganda, Mr. Charles Abuka explained that comparing June against July performance speaks to the loss impact they have recorded in monetary terms. He further proposed that the tax policy, in general, be reviewed by making it broad-based to encourage sectors that are growth points like mobile money.

“It is not always the case that high taxes helps to generate revenue; it might be the case that when you lower them, you get more advantages that can have positive impacts on government revenue,” Mr Abuka said.

Mobile Network operators and mobile money agents have kicked against the policy since March 2018, citing that the tax will make their business extinct. The CEO of MTN Uganda, Mr. Wim Vanhelleputte has said “the MTN business dropped by 30% following the tax introduction on Mobile Money. Our estimations are that if the existing tax regime remains unchanged, we will continue going down further maybe even 35 per cent or even 40 per cent by the end of the year.”

MTN Uganda has said mobile money agents who number about 150,000 in the country are getting 40% less of what they used to earn, and that they now have to pay a 10% withholding tax, which was not the case before.

Financial experts have said, taxing the movement of money discourages trade and commerce, it discourages the formalization of the economy and it interferes with financial intermediation.

Francis Kamulegeya, a UK trained Chartered Tax Adviser and Certified Public Accountant, has said that the Mobile Money tax undermines the progress and successes made in the country in respect of financial inclusion. It hurts the poorest most, and this is already evident on the basis of the impact the tax has had in just five days. It will result in massive loss of employment, both direct and indirect employment in the mobile money sector, it will discourage people from using mobile money services and it will increase the cost of doing business in Uganda

Conclusion

Lessons from Uganda clearly show consumers have lost trust in the mobile money system and are reverting to banks, or heavy use of cash transactions, which once again deepens the informal economy while discounting gains to enhance financial inclusion.

Mobile Money in many markets in Africa is at a nascent stage despite huge volumes and values recorded by Central Banks. Taxing any of these markets undermines the investment case at a time when mobile operators are already under significant cost pressure to expand networks, improve service quality, and address new regulatory requirements.

Governments will have to explore broad-based alternatives to mobile money taxation as it rather stands to deliver better results. For us in Ghana, this holds great of lessons for us. This is why Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications has always advocated caution, that as a people we need to be extremely careful and strategic when it comes to imposing new taxes on these digital services! It validates our school of thought that we should not focus on front-loading taxation but rather on encouraging the use of Mobile Financial Services to engender production and in the long term to grow revenues. It is good that the Ghanaian Government has resisted the temptation to impose taxation on mobile money, OTT or other data services.

I pray that we never end up here where Uganda, Shs672 billion in two weeks, and sacrifice all the hard work that the industry and its regulator Bank of Ghana have built, including Ghana moving to the joint third position with Tanzania who were previously way ahead of Ghana, (World Bank Findex report). If Uganda does not take steps to correct this taxation anomaly Ghana will overtake them in the near future.

It is important that we point to those fixated on taxation of MoMo and other Digital Services to see the Telecom sector rather as a Cash Horse pulling the cart of the economy up the steep hill of development that needs caring for and grooming to unleash its maximum sustainable potential, than a Cash Cow that has to be unsustainably milked to death.
Source: Article written by Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications
http://telecomschamber.com/

 

THE Director of the Vobiss Solutions, Mr Usen Antia, has called for collaboration between the government and telecommunication companies to meet the global technological communication standards.

That, he said, would bring an improvement in technology, thereby speeding the advancement of communication in the various sectors of the economy.

He added that although some telecommunication network providers were making progress in services, there were little interventions in the form of policy implementation which enabled telcos and investors to operate in the country.

Mr Antia said this at the 2018 Furukawa Broadband Systems training and showcase of products to the Ghanaian market which was held on July 6, 2018.

Recounting similar instances in some European countries, he said there were a lot of governmental support for broadband investment since technology was the future for education, governance, as well as huge investment into the future.Mr Antia said with government’s initiatives, moderate policy implementations and advice for both the already grown companies and growing companies could help them function well to meet international standards.

That, he said, would serve as source of employment for the citizenery, improve the standard of living, reduce poverty, generate revenue for the state through taxation and reduce over-dependence on government.

With this, he said the telecommunications operators should not compromise their activities but rather develop means of adopting the fibre network system which could reach the target customers at their various homes at a higher speed.

He added that with fibre network, “data is transferred using light sent down the cable. And Fibre Optic network is often used as an alternative to copper if the data is required to travel long distance at the higher speed.”

“Fibre network connection cannot be cut off from the industry so to bridge the technological gap, Ghana should increase connections to the fibre. Currently, the country has more than half a million connected to fibre,” he said.

Mr Antia stated that with current speed to meet the growing demand of the customers, it was necessary for the Vobiss Solution and Furukawa Electrical Group to collaborate to educate the participants on the need to understand how internet service providers could engage in the huge investment from this industry.

“Our clients, stakeholders and the industry players have to know a lot about fibre network since our companies are now introduced this into the market and help them alongside”, he indicated

Futurity
He said moving forward, it was estimated that the urban population would increase from five million to 10 million; hence, if strategic measures were not put in place, access to internet service would be scarce.

“We believe that internet access is a human right that citizens should enjoy without limitation or interruptions”, he indicated.

He, therefore, appealed to the government, stakeholders, industry players and the country as a whole to do everything necessary to get connected to the fibre network system. — GB

Our success is driven by our people and their commitment to getting results the right way – by operating responsibly, executing with excellence, applying innovative technologies and capturing new opportunities for profitable growth.

MTN opened an IPO for 35 per cent of its Ghana business, while separate reports emerged dampening expectations for the company’s float of its Nigeria operation.

The operator group has long been expected to IPO both its Nigeria and Ghana businesses by the end of the year, a goal said to be on track by Group CEO Rob Shuter at the company’s earnings call in early May.

Its Ghana IPO was imposed by the country’s authorities as part of the terms of its 4G licence in a bid to increase local ownership of major companies operating in Ghana.

As a result the float has been marketed to appeal to investors from within the country and just five per cent of the new shares were available to international investors, MTN Group CFO Ralph Mupita confirmed at the launch event.

MTN Ghana CEO Ebenezer Asante added the ability to buy shares through its mobile money platform would increase the appeal of the IPO to citizens, noting: “people the length and breadth of the country do not need to know where the Ghana Stock Exchange is located, they have the Ghana Stock Exchange on their phones.”

In its prospectus, the company said it was the leading operator in Ghana with 17.83 million subscribers and a market share of 55 per cent as of the end of December 2017. It hopes to receive a total of GHS3.48 billion ($747 million) for the 35 per cent stake.

Nigeria progress
In the hours prior to the launch of the MTN Ghana IPO, a spokesperson from MTN Nigeria was quoted by the News Agency of Nigeria calming expectation on the progress of its IPO in that country.

The spokesperson reportedly said the company was still “perfecting” the details and quashed earlier reports it was expecting to receive $500 million from the float – stating no value or specific timeline had been confirmed.

Source: MobileWorldLive

Ursula Owusu-Ekuful (Communications Minister)

The Ministry of Communications is in collaboration with the Ministry of Education to review the curriculum of schools to institutionalize coding programming as a subject to be taught in all Junior High Schools in the country.

This is to enable children of school going age to be abreast of the development of software applications to boost the country’s Information Communication Technology (ICT) drive.
The Ministry says it is also ready to install a switch for internet exchange point in Kumasi Metropolis, the second in the country, by the close of May 2018 to facilitate the exchange of local internet traffic and to reduce cost of bandwidths and data prices.

Mrs. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful disclosed these at this year’s “International Girls in ICT Day” on Friday, under the theme, “Expand Horizons, Change Attitudes”. The day has been set aside to create a global environment that empowers and encourages girls and young women to consider careers in the growing field of ICT.
About 600 Junior High Schools students selected from various districts in the Ashanti Region, who have been trained in ICT programmes, were present at the Great Hall of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology to celebrate the day.

The celebration of the day was capped with awards, under the auspices of International Communication Union (ITU), for the best 10 performing students with Nora Akoto Tamakloe from Santa Maria School in the Atwima Kwanwoma District emerging as the overall best, as she took home a laptop computer, hard drive, power bank, modem and a certificate.
She was followed by Millicent Afrakomaa of Saint John’s School in the Bekwai Municipality while Elizabeth Quaicoo of Asokore Mampong Junior High School placed third. Both of them walked home with certificates, laptop computers and modems.

Among the best 10 was also a student from the Garden City Special School in Kumasi, Atta Ama Macleana, who took home a laptop computer and other accessories.
According to the Communications Minister, government would soon establish computer laboratories in the schools of the three best students for the benefit of all and sundry within the area but cautioned the children against cyber crime.

Mrs. Frema Osei-Opare, Chief of Staff on her part said the government would do all possible to change the face of ICT in Ghana for girls in particular to have access to skills training. She also reiterated government’s interest in girls’ skills training to fill the ICT gaps by encouraging the Ministry of Communications to establish more ICT clubs in the country.

Deputy Secretary General of ITU, Mr. Malcolm Johnson commended the government for the free Senior High School initiative and said his outfit would continue to collaborate with Ghana to make sure young girls choose careers in ICT.

Source: Ghanaian Times

Qatar-based Ooredoo claimed it had become the world’s first operator to deploy a commercial 5G network, representing a “breakthrough” for the industry.

In a statement, the company said it had now launched a live 5G network on the 3.5GHz spectrum band and, in effect, beat rival global operators to the punch.

The first stage of Ooredoo’s 5G Supernet deployment covers an area from The Pearl Qatar island to the Hamad International Airport, with a number of parts of the country also covered as part of the initial commercial launch.

5G devices
However, while the company claimed 5G had now launched in the country, it added in its statement that access to the network “will require a 5G compatible device from Ooredoo”, which are yet to launch.

Presumably, until this happens, Ooredoo’s 5G network will not be accessible by consumers.

When it is usable, Ooredoo’s 5G service will offer New Radio capabilities to provide high speed, capacity and better latency compared to “existing cellular systems”, said the company.

Waleed Al Sayed, Ooredoo Qatar CEO, said the operator and country had made history by becoming the “first company in the world to offer access to 5G technology and services”.

The development follows the activation of Ooredoo’s new 5G Commercial Core Network, occurring “days ago”.

Ooredoo said it had been working on 5G deployment since 2016, and tipped the technology to provide the foundations for new innovations including driverless cars and smart roads, a national fleet of service drones and VR/AR deployment.

Deployments of 5G in the US (from AT&T and Verizon) are also expected at the end of this year, and Qualcomm recently said a handful of smartphone vendors were also aiming to launch 5G-ready devices at the end of this year.

Source: Mobile World Live

The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications together with the Government of Ghana, Central Bank, GhIPSS and commercial banks on Thursday 10^th May 2018 launched the mobile money interoperability system at the Marriot hotel in Accra.

The Mobile Money Payment Interoperability is the service, which allows direct and seamless transfer of funds from one mobile money wallet to another mobile money wallet across networks, which was developed by Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) with active collaboration of the Mobile Industry.

It creates convenience for mobile money users to transact business and drives financial inclusion, lowers cost of transaction, increases service reach and reduces reliance on cash for payments. It also provides a financial transaction engine that is versatile, efficient and robust and enhances patronage by both banked and unbanked segment of the population.

Ing. Kenneth Ashigbey, CEO of the Telecoms Chamber in his speech at the event said “our customers would benefit from network effects and from reduced transaction costs. Governments can also be optimistic that interoperability can help advance financial inclusion due to the ubiquitous nature of mobile and reduced transaction costs as well as can also lower the cost of printing and managing cash.

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who launched the system in Accra, acknowledged the contribution and co-operation of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), GhIPSS, the telcos and financial institutions for ensuring the realization of the system.

This is the Phase One of two phases of the interoperability payments system. Under the Phase One, customers will be able to move monies freely from mobile money accounts across different networks and from their mobile money accounts to bank accounts without any hassle.

The second phase, which will be completed in the next two months, will allow the movement of monies between and among telecommunication operators, banks and e-zwitch accounts in a seamless manner –and the flow is vice versa, to complete the Financial Inclusion Triangle.

Vice President Bawumia noted that after 60 years of the country’s independence, about 60 per cent of the population did not have bank accounts, and had no access to payment instruments aside cash for transactions.

This, he said, necessitated low level of savings in the financial system and the reason for the high interest rates on loans in most developing countries like Ghana.

It was against that backdrop, he said, the Government decided to have a platform that would rope in both banked and unbanked segments of the population to improve domestic resource mobilization and reduce the interest rates on loans.

He said the mobile revolution had provided a major opportunity to cover about 70 per cent of the bankable population since there were 37 million connected to mobile phones in Ghana, which would rope-in a majority of the population into the financial space.

He noted that it was the fastest way of formalising the economy and would improve the efficiency of the country’s tax collections efforts and stem capital flight.

Vice President Bawumia said: ‘If done on a comprehensive scale, financial resources locked up in non-financial assets would be brought into the banking system for intermediation and this could be a significant source of resources (representing potentially three-two times what is being currently intermediated in financial system.’’

He described the launch as a historic day for the nation, noting that the singular achievement reinforced President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s belief that with the right conditions and leadership, there was nothing Ghanaians could not achieve as a people.

The Vice President noted that a cash-lite economy would not only bring about efficiency and convenience, but would also save the nation a lot of money that was spent for maintaining the currency notes.

He urged the various public institutions to be ready to accept electronic payments to give meaning to the various efforts at introducing different electronic payment channels.

Vice President Bawumia said the government next step would be to focus on cross-border arena to ensure efficient payment system among the countries in the sub-region to promote intra-African trade.

The event attracted key stakeholders including; Dr Ernest Addison, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Maxwell Opoku Afare, First Deputy Governor of the BoG, Mr Achie Hesse, the CEO of GhIPSS, executives of the Ghana Bankers Association, CEOs of financial institutions, CEOs of telecommunication companies and captains of industries.

Source: GNA