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Mr Abraham Tetteh - Administrator, Tourism Development Fund

Tourism Devt Fund raises GH¢14m from levies

The Tourism Development Fund (TDF) has raked in GH¢14 million from a levy imposed on the hospitality and tourism industry in Ghana.
Revenue from the fund is expected to hit the GH¢20 million target by the first quarter of 2016, the administrator of the fund, Mr Abraham Tetteh, has revealed.

Speaking with the Daily Graphic, he said, “The act which established the Tourism Development Authority (TDA) mandates it to ensure that the TDF will be channeled into areas such as infrastructural development, marketing and promotion, research and capacity building, development of entrepreneurial skills, education and training, and tourism export-oriented activities.”

Background

The TDA was instituted by Act 817 in 2011 to help raise funds to accelerate the development of the tourism sector. The act mandates the TDA to register and certify all enterprises in the tourism sector of the country.

The TDF became operational in October 2012 through registration and accreditation of the establishments within the sector. Official collection of the one per cent levy on products and services commenced in December, 2012.

Monitoring and expenditure
Mr Tetteh explained that the TDA had a continued registration system which ensured that all enterprises which fell within the tourism sector were brought on board.

He added that the TDA had put in place monitoring mechanisms to ensure that all establishments diligently fulfilled their tax obligations to the TDF.

“We operate one of the most effective systems in terms of managing this fund. We have developed an effective monitoring system to track the collection of the levy and to ensure that the various establishments render proper accounts to the TDF”, He said.

To facilitate the effective monitoring and operation of the fund, Mr Tetteh told the Daily Graphic that part of the money from the fund had been used to purchase 17 Toyota Pick Ups, which had been distributed to the 11 administrative regions of the TDA within the tourism sector in the country.

Even though he declined to quote any figure in terms of the cost of the vehicles, he was quick to say that “we have invested the rest of the money, and we are still mobilising funds. Like I said, by the first quarter of 2016, we will embark on legacy projects with what we have. We are developing a website to make our operations open to the public.”

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