In recent developments, several Ghanaian businesses have reported difficulties due to Bento Africa’s failure to remit taxes and pension contributions on behalf of some of its Ghanaian customers.
Back in 2021, Bento Africa expanded its operations into Ghana, Kenya, and Rwanda. The firm, which has already faced criticism in Nigeria for neglecting tax and pension remittances for its Nigerian clients, now appears to be struggling in Ghana as well. Two sources familiar with the matter claim that inadequate documentation and a high staff turnover rate have hindered Bento from processing these funds correctly. One source stated, “Bento has neglected to record information that clients have provided over the years.”
The same sources explain that Bento’s inability to meet its pension and tax obligations in Ghana is largely due to poor record-keeping and frequent employee departures. This has led to delays, and in some instances, Bento has collected funds from clients without filing the necessary tax documents.
At registration, clients are required to submit their employee tax numbers and salary information. However, months later, they are still being prompted for these details, leading to further delays. In some cases, Bento has even collected money without filing the appropriate taxes. One former employee of a company that used Bento in Ghana recalled that they first became aware of unremitted PAYE payments, SSNIT contributions, and withholding taxes in January 2023. In response, the company contacted their Bento account manager in an attempt to resolve the issue.
However, frequent staff changes at Bento complicated the resolution process, ultimately leading to the replacement of key personnel by former CEO Ebun Okubanjo. One insider commented, “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 the back-and-forth, but as I speak, we still have more than GH₵12,000 in unpaid PAYE and withholding taxes.” Despite assurances to the contrary, Bento failed to pay roughly seven months’ worth of PAYE and pension contributions for this client.
Okubanjo has acknowledged the issues, attributing some of the difficulties to Nigeria’s intricate tax structure. Nevertheless, these revelations suggest that many of the challenges may be self-inflicted. In Ghana, Bento’s failure to pay taxes and pensions has frequently resulted in fines imposed by the tax office, further burdening the affected companies. Frustrated customers have complained, placing additional pressure on Bento to settle these fines, although internal financial constraints have made it challenging to do so. One former employee noted, “I’ve witnessed instances where Bento had to pay fines for late tax payments. However, these penalties left insufficient funds to cover future taxes, causing the company to postpone filings and incur even more fines.”
Bento’s high employee turnover and poor documentation practices continue to exacerbate these issues, delaying tax filings and leading customers to accuse the company of mismanaging their funds. The fallout from Bento’s actions has left many businesses struggling to navigate the complexities of tax and pension compliance. This situation raises the question of whether Bento Africa’s rapid growth has outpaced its operational capacity. With mounting client concerns and ongoing investigations, Bento Africa now faces a challenging road ahead to restore trust and stabilize its operations.
