Authorities have arrested an individual alleged to be associated with Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), in connection with recent market fires across the country.

The suspect was reportedly contracted to set markets ablaze, raising suspicions about a possible coordinated campaign to disrupt economic activities in the New Year.

See More ❯

By Albert Allotey

Accra, Jan. 12, GNA – Mr Labram Musah, the Executive Director of Programmes of the Vision for Alternative Development – Ghana (VALD-Ghana) has urged representatives of civil society organisations to help fight the violation of the tobacco control laws. 

He said the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) was willing to work to protect the health of the citizenry, but they could not be everywhere and “As advocates of the laws we need to assist them by reporting any violations of the laws when we spot them. 

 “If you see somebody smoking in public; the point is that you have the law in your hands immediately inform the appropriate authorities or take pictures, and trust the FDA, they will not hesitate to act.”   

Mr Musah said, “Am urging all of us today, to be on the lookout and report people who violate the tobacco control laws. I believe we can stop the violation of the laws when we see them, so together we can help protect ourselves from tobacco harm.” 

Mr Musah gave the advice at the presentation of a Post-Assessment of Tobacco Taxation in Ghana 2024 Report initiated by VALD-Ghana and supported by Tax Justice Network Africa at a meeting held in Accra. 

The post-assessment study examines the impact of the Excise Duty Amendment Act 2023 (Act 1108), which implementation began in May 2023.  

The new tax law aims to significantly increase tobacco prices, reduce consumption, and generate additional government revenue for public health initiatives.  

The report was disseminated to representatives of the Ministry of Health, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), WHO Country Office, and other civil society organisations.  

Dr Michael Kofi Boachie, SAMRC/Wits Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science – PRICELESS: South Africa, and lead in the study said Ghana implemented an Excise Duty Amendment Act in 2023 to align tobacco taxation with the ECOWAS directive and international standards.  

He said the new tax adopted the exact ad valorem rate (50%) in the ECOWAS directive, however, the specific tax was not pegged to the dollar and inflation.  

As of May 2024, US$0.02 was equivalent to GHS0.30.  

“This means that Ghana may be charging a specific tax lower than the ECOWAS rate depending on exchange rate movements,” he stated, adding that; “Based on the exchange rate in May 2024 we estimate that Ghana is losing GHS0.02 on each cigarette consumed.”  

Dr Boachie said the hybrid tobacco excise system increased revenue from GHS220,798,555 (May 2022 – April 2023) to GHS454,466,107 (May 2023 – April 2024), about 106 per cent growth in revenue even after granting tax waivers on tobacco products from within the ECOWAS.  

The challenges the GRA faced in the implementation of the tax system included illicit trade of tobacco, compliance issues with importers, tobacco industry interference in policymaking, and inadequate human resources, logistics, and capacity building for staff in customs.  

To strengthen the implementation of the tax for effective tobacco control, the report recommended the specific excise component must be pegged to inflation and/or the US dollar as stated in the ECOWAS directive so that the importers will pay based on prevailing exchange rates.  

“If the specific excise rate remains in the local currency, for example, GHS, then it must be increased annually to ensure that it is in line with the sum of inflation and income (GDP) growth rates.”  

The report called for enforcement of existing tobacco control laws and regulations to ensure that retailers and wholesalers operated within the law.  

“This requires building the capacity of the customs personnel and providing them with the necessary logistics to perform their work,” it said.  

It called for enhanced coordination and collaboration between the GRA, FDA, and other relevant agencies to combat illicit trade.  

“Addressing illicit trade will also require effective monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to track the impact of the new tax measures and identify areas for improvement from time to time.”  

To this end, Ghana must implement tobacco track and trade systems in line with Article 8 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products as a matter of urgency.  

It urged the removal of tax waivers or exemptions granted on tobacco products since the products offered no health benefits to the people.  

“The government must strengthen the implementation of the WHO FCTC Article 5.3 to prevent the tobacco industry from its undue interference in tobacco control policies and regulations.”  

The report called on the government to consider establishing a tobacco control fund sourced from the percentage of excise tax revenue and/or a solitary contribution (percentage of the value of tobacco products) by importers and manufacturers.  

There are many countries earmarking tobacco tax revenues to support various activities. Aside from the excise taxes, some countries have a surcharge or additional levy solely dedicated to tobacco control activities.  

For instance, in 2014, Kenya introduced a solatium fund to support tobacco control activities and tobacco companies pay two per cent of the value of tobacco products.  

GNA