Africa Business Radio

Ghana's parliament was disrupted during a late-night session over a contentious government-proposed levy on electronic transactions. The chaos started after opposition MPs rushed forward to prevent Deputy Speaker Joseph Osei Owusu from leaving his seat to vote, local media reports. The opposition National Democratic Congress has rejected the proposed levy of 1.75% on electronic transactions, which includes mobile-money payments. It says it will hit low-income people and those outside the formal banking sector. Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Artta however says it is necessary to widen the tax net, arguing that it could raise an extra 6.9bn Ghanaian cedi next year.