This caution was voiced during an interview with Channel One TV on Monday, September 16.

MOMAG, which represents various associations, organizations, and unions, is actively campaigning to end galamsey due to its detrimental effects on the environment and communities.

The group has criticised the government for its inadequate response to the issue, claiming that decisive action has been lacking.

The National Secretary of MOMAG, Kingsley Amoako Atta, highlighted the urgency of the situation, stressing that continued inaction could lead to significant consequences.

He warned that if the government does not implement effective measures by the end of September, MOMAG members across the country will cease their operations in protest.

The proposed strike is intended to underscore the gravity of the environmental destruction caused by galamsey and to compel the government to address the crisis with the seriousness it demands.

MOMAG’s members believe that their action could amplify the call for a more robust response to illegal mining.

“In light of the government’s inaction, MOMAG is left with no choice but to consider a nationwide strike and this strike will impact momo transactions, bill payments, salary payments, and financial inclusion will also be affected.”

The Association has said some members are continuously arrested over alleged fraudulent activities.

MMAAG President, Dela Dunstan Abotsi disclosed this in an interview on Accra-based Citi FM.

“Regarding how our members are being arrested left and right, there is one particular issue that we are monitoring closely. One of our members was arrested at Tema Community 5 and sent to Port Harbour Police Station.

“He was later transferred from Port Harbour to Akosombo police station. Somebody came to withdraw fraudulent money from his end, which he claimed he wasn’t aware of. Based on that, he was arrested, made to pay the money, amounting to GH₵8000, and his home was confiscated. These are issues we are following closely,” he said.

Insisting the members are innocent of the allegations against them, Mr Abotsi vowed they will use any legal means to ensure the victims get the justice they deserve.

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The measure which takes effect from Friday, December 1, is to secure fair compensation for the services provided by MoMo agents.

This was contained in a joint statement issued by four MoMo Associations: the Northern MoMo Agents Association of Ghana (NOMAAG), the Mobile Money Advocacy Group (MOMAG), the Mobile Money Agents Association Ghana (MMAAG), and the ABAG.

The statement noted that this step is not to create inconvenience for customers but to bring attention to their concerns about insufficient compensation.

“During this period, we will continue to actively engage with service providers to address the commission review concerns raised,” the Associations stated. “If, within the one-month period, there is no favourable adjustment, we will regrettably have to implement further action plans,” the statement said.

They have therefore called on all stakeholders, including customers to support their pursuit of fair compensation for MoMo agents.

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Read the full statement below:

He stated that, although the Ministry of Communication and NCA have been lenient in the SIM re-registration exercise, a lot of people don’t have Ghana card to complete the process.

“In as much as it is a proper policy, government must find ways to deal with the challenges in the policy implementation like those who do not have the Ghana Card and those who have problems with the Ghana Card,” he added.

According to him, the directive “sends shivers down their spines”.

Otumfuor urged the NCA to issue a new statement to clearly state the fate of corporate bodies and businesses.

“Although the government has been fair and lenient with the registration exercise, to us the new directive is not clear. We were expecting government to put in measures to lessen the challenges” he said on Accra-based Neat FM.

NCA will from today, Monday, April 17, delete all unregistered SIM cards from the database of telecommunication network operators. 

SIM cards which have not been re-registered with Ghana cards will be deactivated.

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A directive issued on Thursday, April 13, by the NCA indicated that all disconnected SIMs are to be delinked from all databases. 

For the avoidance of doubt, this included SIMs that were blocked in November 2022 for not having completed both stages of the SIM registration.

Again, all SIM cards registered after the limit of 10 per individual are to be delinked, deactivated and removed from all databases by today. 

Subsequently, the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications also in a press statement agreed to comply with the NCA’s directive. 

They have appealed that the deadline should be extended to January 2023.

Government through the Communications Ministry has already set July 31 as the deadline for all persons to re-register their SIM cards with their Ghana cards.

Unregistered SIM cards, according to the Ministry, will be blocked after the deadline though many Ghanaians are still yet to acquire the Ghana card.

In a statement signed by General Secretary, Evan Tuffour, the Association noted mobile money business will be negatively affected should government decide to implement the July 31 deadline.

“As a business people in the industry, it will be very detrimental to our business and the industry, in general, should government pursue the 31st July 2022.

“We appeal that with realism and having considered inconveniences and challenges, the government should extend the deadline to January 2023,” portions of the statement read.

This comes after calls by the Minority in Parliament for the government to at least extend the deadline to the end of the year.

The Ranking Member on the Communications Committee, Sam George, addressing the press on Thursday stated the deadline can pose a potential national security threat.

Read the full statement below:

According to them, the mobile money business will be negatively affected should government stick to the July 31 deadline.

In a statement issued on Thursday, July 28, the group pleaded for the deadline to be extended to January 2023.

“As a business people in the industry, it will be very detrimental to our business and the industry, in general, should government pursue the 31st July, 2022 deadline.

“We appeal that with realism and having considered inconveniences and challenges, the government should extend the deadline to January 2023,” portions of the statement read.

Their call comes two days to the deadline of July 31.

According to him, the reports on the increasing rate of panic withdrawals can be attributed to the low level of public education on the Bill.

Speaking in an interview with JoyNews on Saturday, he stated that if public education is intensified, the general public will be at ease and continue to keep their monies in their mobile wallets.

“What we’re doing now is first of all educating our members across the country as to the areas that the E-levy will be covering and those that the E-levy will not be covering so that, indirectly we’ll be using our various members as tools to educate the general public.

“So anytime anyone visits any of the outlets to perform whatsoever transaction, we’ll try to ask the person if he or she really understands the E-levy.

“Then again we’ll be partnering government to also make sure that we go up there with extensive education. Because we believe that if the education goes down well, what we’re experiencing now will be something that will not continue to happen again”, he added.

Touching on how long his outfit intends to use for the planned public education, Mr. Otumfour stated that he’s unable to give a definite timeline.

According to him, the feedback from the general public regarding their level of understanding of the E-levy will determine when they will stop or continue with the massive public awareness.

The comments by Mr Otumfour were in reaction to panic withdrawals by a section of the general public, following the passage of the E-levy Bill, which was assented to by President Akufo-Addo on March 31, 2022.

For such individuals, their fear is that the Bill will affect the values of their monies in their mobile wallets, hence the panic withdrawals.

But the General Secretary of the Mobile Money Agents Association has debunked such fears. Adding that a person’s money in his or mobile will not be automatically affected by the Levy.

“Should one have money on his or wallet, honestly, the levy is not going to impact you. The money could be on your wallet for over 10 years. E-levy is not going to affect you. If you’re doing a deposit into your wallet, E-levy is not affecting you.

“If you’re going to cash money, E-levy is not affecting. So I think when we get down unto the streets and then we actually define the scope or the bracket that the E-levy is actually covering, it will help us to avoid what we’re currently witnessing,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, the Minority in Parliament has filed a case at the Supreme Court challenging the legality of the passage of the E-levy Bill.

In their opinion, Parliament did not have the required quorum to pass the Levy, therefore,

the passage of the Levy is unconstitutional.

But the Majority has disagreed and has urged all citizens to rally behind the new revenue measure, to accelerate development in the country.

The Mobile Money Agent Association of Ghana has vowed to resist the government’s Electronic Transaction Tax (E-levy) in any form.

Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen, the Secretary of the Association, Evan Otumfuo, said they are not in any way against the payment of taxes.

However, the e-levy will be an affront to the digitalisation agenda and will put a lot of them out of business as customers may decide not to patronise their services again.

“We get our monies on a commission basis, so if you don’t work, you won’t get anything. The mobile money service is now, directly and indirectly, controlling the space and our partners who are the telcos are already paying corporate taxes likewise the agents,” he explained.

He said if there had been broader consultations between them and the government, they would have given better options that would generate revenue.

Mr Otumfuo further called on the government to provide subsidies or intervention packages for them instead of burdening them with another tax.

He argued since the inception of MOMO, it has created more jobs and so this tax directive will rather create unemployment and see their business dwindling as consumers will stop using MOMO.

The government has proposed to impose a 1.75 per cent levy on mobile money and other electronic transactions that exceed GH¢100 per day.

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The proposal is part of efforts by the government to raise revenue to prosecute its development agenda and was contained in the 2022 budget presented by Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.

He said when effective, the levy will not affect people whose monthly transactions totalled GH¢3,000.

Meanwhile, the group has threatened to embark on an industrial strike on Thursday, December 23, 2021, over the e-levy despite assurances from telcos to cut momo charges by 25%.

The demo is scheduled for Thursday, December 23, 2021, and is dubbed say no to e-levy.

On the back of this development, all agents outlets will remain closed.

Participants are expected to converge at the Obra Spot at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle at exactly 8:00 am.

The protesters will then march through the principal streets of Accra and end at Parliament house.

This follows a similar exercise by the Economic Fighters League on November 26, 2021.

The demo, dubbed ‘Justice 4 Ghana’, was led by a former Chairman of the People’s National Convention, Bernard Mornah.

The 1.75% tax was announced by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, during the 2022 budget presentation on Wednesday, November 17, 2021.

Mr Ofori-Atta explained the levy was to increase tax revenue for the country, adding that it was occasioned by the surge in mobile money transactions during the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020.

According to him, the total transactions for 2020 were estimated to be over ¢500 billion compared to GH¢78 billion in 2016, just five years ago.

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His announcement has sparked controversy in the country with the Minority in Parliament declaring they will resist the implementation.

Meanwhile, the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunication has indicated MTN and AirtelTigo have agreed to cut momo charges by 25% to lessen the burden of the tax on consumers.

But MMAAG insists the levy is “very regressive” and “critical to the survival of their businesses.”