Ghanaian government has implemented a new tax for ride-hailing trips.
On April 1, Ghana’s vehicle licensing agency, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), started implementing the Digital Transport Guidelines, a new policy that forces Ghanaians to pay an additional charge for every trip they take on ride-hailing apps like Uber and Bolt.
Per the guidelines, the new tax is supposed to be decided by all the ride-hailing apps, but to get the tyres rolling, the DVLA has already set the tax at GH¢1 per trip ($0.10).
If that doesn’t sound like a lot to you, here’s something costlier: the new guidelines may also force ride-hailing apps to break Ghana’s data privacy laws.
Under the guidelines, ride-hailing companies will have to share customer data—including passengers’ names and destinations—on a monthly basis with the DVLA. The companies are also required to verify all passengers’ identities using Ghana’s biometric ID, the Ghana card. Both of these acts—which involve private companies processing personal information—are prohibited by the Data Protection Act of 2012.
The new guidelines also mandate ride-hailing drivers to pay some annual fees, including GH¢30 for driver licence verification and GH¢33 for vehicle permits. At this point, experts are still unclear on whether the new policy is legal. Everyday Ghanaians, on the other hand, have taken to social media to express how the new policy will lead to double taxation.
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