Deputy Finance Minister justifies proposed hike in charges of gov’t services

A Deputy Minister of Finance, Abena Osei-Asare, has justified the proposed 15 percent increment in the cost of fees and charges for government services.

According to Abena Osei-Asare, the decision is to ensure that beneficiaries of government services pay the right amount in line with current economic trends.

Parliament is currently considering an amendment to the Fees and Charges Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022.

Moving the motion at the second reading in Parliament, Abena Osei-Asare called on members of the House to support the proposal.

“The fees and charges collected by the Ministries and Agencies have to adjust on a regular basis to keep pace with current trends.”

Charges for government services such as vehicle registration and driver’s license issuance by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA); birth and death certificate issuance by the Birth and Death Registry, and passport issuance by the Passports Office among others will be affected.

These charges will be subjected to an annual adjustment by the average inflation rate with the consent of the Finance Minister.

Hitherto, these agencies had to propose their service charge increment to the Finance Ministry, negotiate and get approval.

The new directive of the government, therefore, appears to regulate the frequency and rate at which such fees and charges are increased or decreased in some cases.

This forms part of new initiatives by the government intended to raise domestic revenue