A former Deputy Minister of Finance under the Mahama administration, Mona Quratey, has challenged the figures given by the government as the breakdown of the value of Mobile Money transactions since 2016 till date.
Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, Charles Adu Boahen, had said the data for 2020 was $99 billion.
“So Mobile Money in 2016, total value of transaction is about 20billion dollars which was about 79 billion cedis. In 2020, when we have the latest data it had skyrocketed to 99bn dollars.
“In 2017, it went to 35bn dollars about 156bn cedis, then it went to 48bn dollars in 2018 of about 223bn cedis.
“In fact, in 2020 the number was 99bn dollars. A thousand transactions per second. All government is asking for is a small share,” he said on Metro TV on Thursday, January 20.
But speaking on the First Take show with Dzifa Bampoh on 3FM Wednesday, January 26, Ms Quartey wondered why Ghana still has deficit if these figures are true reflections of the systems.
“So they gave us 2017 numbers and last year’s number as 99billion. I am glad this has come up. Fellow Ghanaians, let us all know that this 99 billion is not a total 99 billion, it is cumulative. When I send money to Dzifa and Dizifa sends that same money, let us say I send 10 cedis, it is not counted as the same and Dzifa send 10 cedis to Enyonam it is not counted as the same 10.
“From me to Dzifa is 10 cedis, from Dzifa to Enyonam becomes 20 and Enyonam to Phillip becomes 30. Meanwhile, it is the same 10 cedis. So it is not actually 99 billion real money that has moved anywhere. It is the same money that has moved round.
This 99 billion figure that is being bandied around is giving a very strange impression. If there is indeed 99billion dollars that is straight money in the system, how do you have a deficit? If that sum of money can circulate then why do we have a deficit so it is not true.
“What is true is that that same money being counted several rounds as it moves from different person to another person to another person.”
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