New GRA board chaired by Joe Ghartey to block revenue leakages

The governing board of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has been reconstituted with a task for the board to work closely with relevant institutions to block revenue leakages.

The Minister of Finance, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam who inaugurated the new board chaired by Joe Ghartey, the Member of Parliament for Essikado Ketan in the Western Region said working closely with relevant institutions and stakeholders will help to reduce tax non-compliance and block revenue leakages.

According to the Minister, it was critical for the revenue generating institution to achieve its medium-term revenue targets of 18% to 20% tax/GDP ratio as well as meet all indicative targets and structural benchmarks related to revenue under the IMF programme.

Aside Joe Ghartey, who is a former Minister of Railway Development, other mebers of the board  a deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Alex Ampaabeng, Commissioner-General for GRA, Ms Julie Essiam, a deputy Minister of Trade, Micheal Okyere Baafi, and  the second  deputy Governor for the Bank of Ghana, Mrs Elsie Addo Awadzi.

The rest are Susan Akomea, Immediate Past Municipal Chief Executive of Asante Akyim Central and a Co-founding member of CENAB UK, Mrs Araba Bosomtwe, a Master of Public Administration (MPA) holder with international experience in handling high level administrative duties and Mr Kwabena Abankwah Yeboah, a fellow of the Ghana College of Pharmacists and also a board member of the ADB bank. 

The Minister of Finance, Dr. Amin Adam indicated that, by working closely with other relevant stakeholders, the new Board could effectively address the issues of alleged harassment of business owners, employ a digitalization drive to streamline tax administration and reduce the heavy dependence on “human interventions''.

These and other measures, the Minister noted, could help build the confidence Ghanaians has in GRA which would ultimately rake in the needed revenue for development.

‘Over the next few days I will be holding stakeholder meetings with institutions involved with GRA to address issues of alleged harassment of businesses  and discuss how we can work to improve the business climate in order for investors to feel confident about investing and doing business in Ghana’ he disclosed.

The minister again entreated the Board to ‘Prioritize necessary improvements and additions to GRA’s physical infrastructure; Augment ongoing efforts aimed at fully implementing the Integrated Tax Administration System (ITAS); Build the capacity of our officers; and Improve the quality of our data analysis for informed decision making’. 

After assuring the Board of his unflinching support and commitment to lead the staff  to drive the GRA to new heights, he added that  ‘We must leave this inauguration with a dedicated resolve to change the narrative and eclipse a 20% threshold of revenue to GDP within the shortest possible time’.

The Finance Minister also commended the previous Board for effective revenue mobilization and noted that, ‘By the numbers, the Authority has consistently met its revenue targets, and I believe strong leadership and dedicated staff have been pivotal in these achievements’.

The Chairperson of the Board, Hon. Joe Ghartey, stated on behalf of the Board that, it was a unique opportunity to serve the nation and that the performance of the Ghana Revenue Authority was crucial, particularly at this point in the country's history.

‘The balance is to increase the revenue and at the same time remain business friendly  and improve the ease of doing business in Ghana, so we thank the President for his confidence in us and assure him of our commitment to bring the needed positive changes at GRA ’’  he stated.