Ghanaian Businesses Left in Crisis as Bento Fails to Fulfill Pension and Tax Duties
Gsmarena NG has discovered that some of Bento Africa’s Ghanaian clients have not received their taxes or pensions. In 2021, the firm moved to Ghana, Kenya, and Rwanda after facing criticism in Nigeria for not paying taxes and pensions to its Nigerian clients.
Poor documentation and a high personnel turnover rate were the reasons for its failure to remit these funds, according to two people with knowledge of the situation.
One source claimed that Bento had neglected to record information provided by clients throughout the years.
The same information is continuously requested of clients months after they registered, including employee tax numbers and salary details. Delays result, and sometimes Bento takes the money but fails to file the taxes,” they continued.
Techpoint Africa was informed by a former employee of a company that had previously utilized Bento in Ghana that they initially became aware of unremitted PAYE payments, SSNIT contributions, and withholding tax in January 2023. For a solution, they subsequently got in touch with their Bento account manager.
However, Bento’s numerous staff changes made it difficult to settle the conflict, eventually being replaced by former CEO Ebun Okubanjo.
“The MD/CEO finally arrived after the whole crew had departed. He told me that if I sent emails, he would reply. Ebun did not mind me sending emails back and forth during this period. We have more than GH₵ 12,000 in PAYE and withholding taxes as I speak to you,” they stated.
Despite assurances to the contrary, Bento failed to pay about seven months’ worth of PAYE and pension contributions for this business.
When Techpoint Africa contacted Okubanjo for comment, he did not address the accusations.
Okubanjo has pointed the finger at Nigeria’s intricate tax structure, but these disclosures imply that a large portion of the country’s issues were self-inflicted.
In Ghana, Bento’s inability to pay taxes and pensions frequently resulted in fines for the impacted companies from Ghana’s tax office.
Frustrated by the constant delays, a few customers complained, which placed pressure on Bento to pay the fines. However, this was frequently challenging due to Bento’s internal financial issues.
In other instances, I have witnessed Bento being required to pay penalties because to their failure to timely submit their taxes. A few months later, however, these penalties would leave insufficient income to pay future taxes. It’s a vicious circle, the former employee added, with the corporation delaying paperwork once more and incurring further penalties.
It seems that the company’s incapacity to retain staff is another significant problem. Bento Ghana had a significant turnover rate even though it employed fewer than fifteen people. Due to the company’s weak documentation culture and frequent departures, new personnel frequently had trouble accessing the data they needed, which further delayed tax filings.
“You can’t file taxes if you don’t have the correct information. Additionally, tax deadlines will be missed if new hires continue to arrive without the appropriate handovers. Customers would complain that Bento had stolen their money but failed to file their taxes, resulting in fines that Bento was unable to cover, the staff member clarified.
It is unclear if Bento’s growth surpassed its capacity to sustain operational effectiveness given its difficulties in Ghana, which are similar to those in Nigeria.
It will be difficult for Bento Africa to restore confidence and stabilize its operations in the face of mounting client complaints and inquiries in at least one of its operating nations. There is still uncertainty about the company’s ability to resolve its structural problems before more consequences arise.
