Bawumia backs insurance brokers' push for VAT exemption and a single regulator

Pinned summary · as of 15:38

Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the former Vice President and New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer for 2028, sat down with the leadership of the Insurance Brokers Association of Ghana (IBAG) to discuss ways of growing the country's insurance sector. The brokers left him a list of proposals covering taxation, regulation, farming and compulsory cover, and he pledged to keep the conversation going.

What we know

• Dr Bawumia, whom reports describe as the NPP's flagbearer for the 2028 election, held talks with IBAG's leadership about how government policy could help the insurance business grow.
• IBAG asked that micro-insurance products be exempted from value added tax, arguing that lower taxes would put cover within reach of more people.
• The association also pressed for one single regulator for the industry, to end what it sees as excessive and overlapping oversight.
• On farming, IBAG wants government backing for agricultural insurance so that farmers are shielded from the risks of production.
• IBAG further called for compulsory Group Life and Workmen's Compensation cover, together with stricter enforcement of the rule that local insurance brokers must be used.
• The brokers proposed decennial liability insurance for road construction projects as a guard against long-term defects.
• Dr Bawumia told the delegation that the proposals could help transform insurance brokerage in Ghana, and that his team would keep working with IBAG on practical policies.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  MyJoyOnline reported that the Ghana Revenue Authority applies a 15% VAT rate to taxable non-life insurance premiums; no other report gave this figure.
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  Atinka Online said the meeting formed part of a wider round of consultations with professional associations, including the Ghana Medical Association and trade-sector groups; other reports did not mention this.

Why it matters for Ghana

Insurance touches households and businesses across Ghana, from farmers exposed to bad harvests to workers whose employers carry no injury cover. IBAG's requests on VAT, a single regulator and compulsory cover would change what policies cost and who must buy them if they were ever adopted. At this stage they are proposals from an industry body and an opposition leader's promise to keep talking, not government policy.