GHANA’S E-LEVY BILL INCHES CLOSER TO REALITY
Image supply: Zikoko Memes
We’ve spoken about Ghana’s controversial e-levy invoice earlier than. Now, the invoice is one step nearer to implementation.
On Tuesday, Ghana’s parliament accredited the digital transaction tax (e-levy) which the federal government expects will assist elevate $900 million in income. The invoice has nonetheless sparked widespread criticism because it will introduce a 1.5% tax on digital cash transfers and transactions.
The ultimate step is the President’s assent which can seal the deal.
According to TechNova, all the next transactions can be taxed as soon as the e-levy invoice comes into legislation:
Mobile cash transfers between accounts on the identical Electronic Money Issuer (EMI)
Mobile cash transfers from an account on one EMI to a recipient on one other EMI
Transfers from financial institution accounts to cellular cash accounts
Transfer from cellular cash accounts to financial institution accounts;
Bank transfers on a digital platform or software, which originate from a checking account belonging to a person, to a different particular person.
President Nana Akufo-Addo’s administration claims the transfer will assist handle a few of the urgent socio-economic issues bedevilling the nation, from unemployment to dwindling state income and excessive public debt.
However, for the typical citizen, the brand new tax represents one more burden as the vast majority of Ghanaians proceed to grapple with excessive residing prices, which have solely been aggravated by hovering gasoline costs induced by the continuing Russia-Ukraine disaster.
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ECOWAS ORDERS NIGERIA TO AMEND ITS CYBERCRIME LAW
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court has ordered the Nigerian authorities to amend Section 24 of its Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention) Act of 2015.
According to the Court, the legislation has been utilized by Nigerian authorities to sanction social media customers and journalists.
What’s included in Section 24?
Section 24 is titled “Cyberstalking” and it criminalises the transmission of content material that is “grossly offensive, pornographic or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character”, and messages or photos that threaten others.
The part additionally provides the court docket authority to grant injunctions to anybody who desires to commit any of the offences listed below it.
So what’s the issue?
The Nigerian authorities has selectively utilized the part to journalists and different vocal political dissidents.
Several journalists from totally different states have been imprisoned on fees of cyberstalking. Freelance journalist, Rotimi Jolayemi, for instance, was jailed after the federal government claimed his poem “brought on annoyance, insult and hatred in direction of Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed”.
Another, Agba Jalingo, was jailed for 174 days after he printed a bit on the diversion of state funds.
What ECOWAS is saying
The go well with was dropped at the ECOWAS Court by a Nigerian CSO, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).
ECOWAS Court says the legislation contradicts Articles 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), each of which promote free speech and expression.
The Court additionally dominated that the Nigerian judiciary usually takes benefit of ambiguous phrases within the legislation to repress residents.
What subsequent?
According to its constitution, Nigeria ought to obey the order or threat financial sanctions by ECOWAS.
There is nonetheless the likelihood that the order can be ignored because of ECOWAS’s dwindling affect within the area. In 2021, for instance, an ECOWAS Court order to carry the Twitter Ban was contested by the Nigerian authorities so an order to amend a legislation could show troublesome to stick to.
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SOUTH AFRICA IS DELAYING ITS ANALOGUE TV SWITCH OFF
Image supply: The Standard
Speaking of court docket motion, a excessive court docket in Pretoria has determined that South Africa’s analogue TV switch-off date ought to be moved from March 31 until the top of June.
Hold on, what’s occurring?
A not-so-long time in the past, TVs weren’t the flowery flat screened darkness that solely wanted modems, subscriptions and satellite tv for pc dishes. They had antennas that broadcasted channels from native television stations, all without cost.
The simplicity of the setup, in addition to the affordability, made analogue TVs the go-to selection for a lot of households, at the same time as digital tv grows in strides.
In South Africa, for instance, over 5.7 million households are nonetheless utilizing analogue TVs. By June although, most of them can be gazing clean screens after the South African authorities cuts off all analogue TV transmitters.
First, it’s not occurring in South Africa solely. It’s a worldwide prevalence.
In reality, not less than 18 nations on the continent have utterly switched off analogue terrestrial transmissions together with Algeria, Tanzania, Kenya, Lesotho and Ghana.
The main motive for this change is to unencumber the published spectrum “which might then be used for different functions, reminiscent of superior wi-fi providers and for public and security providers”. There are different causes together with higher sound and film high quality, in addition to extra channel choices.
In reality, the United Nations International Telecommunications Union set a June 17, 2015 deadline for all nations to finish the change however many African nations missed it.
The motive isn’t so far-fetched. Many Africans are nonetheless utilizing dialogue and/or can’t afford digital televisions and subscriptions. Kenya’s change off value 1.3 million households their TV connections.
This identical motive is what’s holding up South Africa’s change off.
South Africa offers free set bins
To forestall this blackout, the South African authorities is providing these households free set-top bins that may obtain digital transmissions.
Over 3.75 million South African households qualify for these units however only one.12 million have utilized whereas hundreds of thousands extra are left to fund the change themselves.
Last 12 months, eTV, a South African TV broadcaster transmitting by way of analogue, utilized to a court docket in Pretoria looking for to stop the change off. Yesterday, the court docket declined the appliance however prolonged the deadline to June with the intention to give individuals extra time to change.
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http://techcabal.com/2022/03/30/techcabal-daily-south-africa-is-switching-off-old-tvs/
