Momo interoperability: NPP or NDC initiative? Here are the Facts

During a recent public lecture where he presented his vision for the country, Vice President and New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, claimed that his government introduced Mobile Money Interoperability (MMI) in the country.

However, the Communications Officer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi, has disputed Dr. Bawumia’s claim. According to Gyamfi, the first MMI system contract was actually awarded to a company called Sibton by the Bank of Ghana in 2016 under the NDC/Mahama government. He alleged that Bawumia only came to cancel this contract under false pretenses and awarded a new contract to a crony company.

Fact-Check Ghana has verified the claims of both sides and presents the following findings:

In February 2017, news portals published stories about the impending implementation of a Retail Payment Systems Infrastructure, barely a month into the first term of the NPP government.

A Ghanaian company, Sibton Switch Systems Limited (SSSL), had been licensed by the Bank of Ghana to implement the retail payment systems infrastructure in 2016. However, the new management of the Bank of Ghana reviewed the terms of SSSL’s contract and terminated it in 2017.

On April 9, 2018, SSSL filed a Request for Arbitration with the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) against the Bank of Ghana, seeking USD 478 million in reliefs due to a breach of contract.

In September 2019, the Central Bank dismissed one of its employees for misconduct and accepting bribes in connection with the award of the contract to SSSL in 2016.

After a three-year legal battle, the Bank of Ghana disclosed that it had won the case brought against it by SSSL.

In conclusion, the initiative to establish mobile money interoperability (MMI) was commenced before 2017 through a contract awarded to SSSL by the NDC government. However, the contract was terminated in 2017 due to impropriety, and the current MMI service is being operated by the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GHIPSS), under the NPP.