Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta says the impasse between the Bank of Ghana and the Communication Ministry over the monitoring of mobile money transactions will be resolved.
According to the Finance Minister, he met with the Ministry of Communication to discuss the way forward for gathering information on mobile money transactions in Ghana.
“I met with the ministry of communication about ten days ago [over the issue] and I think we have a solution in which the GRA steps in to gather that information,”
Speaking on The Point of View on Citi TV, Ken Ofori Atta disclosed that, the Ghana Revenue Authority will come out with ways of gathering such information, adding that gathering information on mobile money transactions “is not something we are reversing.”
Ken Ofori Atta also advanced that the central bank was only worried about disclosure of such information because the law restricts it.
“The Bank of Ghana is basically worried about the issue of the sanctity of information because what the telcos have done is to create a subsidiary company [to manage mobile money operations]…and as soon as you create that it makes Bank of Ghana the supervisory body because you are dealing with credit. But then the Finance Ministry has assurance on anything,” he added.
In a related development, Mobile money data has become a source of a feud between the Communications Ministry and the Central Bank
Letters from the Communications Ministry contain requests wrapped in strong words asking the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to release the data to a private contractor, Kelni GVG, tasked to verify revenue generated by telcos.
One of the letters signed by Anastasia Marfo from the Communications Ministry said the “level of disrespect exhibited by the bank in this matter is simply appalling”.
However, the Bank of Ghana declined to grant the Communication Ministry’s request, arguing in a letter signed by its Secretary, Frances Van-Hein, that disclosing such information will breach the guidelines of Electronic Money Issuers and Data Protection Act.
However, the Finance Minister in an interview on November 19, 2018 on Citi TV was hopeful that government will be able to put the matter to rest in no time.
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