Tamale Customs gets state warehouse to boost revenue

The Commissioner of the Customs Division (CD) of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Colonel (Retd) Kwadwo Damoah, has inaugurated a state warehouse and an office for the Tamale Collection of the CD in Tamale.

The warehouse and the office located at Datoyili, along the Tamale-Kumasi-Accra highway is to help enhance revenue collection and provide space for goods that have been seized by the collection.

The Tamale Collection has been without a state warehouse, where goods are kept and has had to use the premises of the Northern Regional Secretariat of the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) for that purpose.

Morale

Addressing officers, men and women of the Tamale Collection and the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO) personnel posted to the collection, Col (Retd) Damoah said the new edifice would boost the morale of staff to enable them to increase the revenue target set for the Tamale Collection which they had already exceeded by the end of the first quarter.

He gave the assurance that the government was working to address the residential and office accommodation challenges for personnel of the Tamale CD to further boost their morale.

He said funding was also being sought to complete the Savelugu transit yard. He added that the yard was being funded by the World Bank, aside the four-storey building complex for the Division. All these projects had come to a standstill. He therefore expressed the hope that when completed, they would address the office accommodation challenges faced by the Tamale, Customs Division.

Postings, recruitment

Col. (Retd) Damoah assured personnel of the Tamale Collection, who had spent over 10 years at the collection, that there were plans underway for them to be transferred from those deprived areas to places such as Tema and Airport for them to also enjoy some of the “privileges” that come with working in the cities.

He also assured the NABCO personnel posted to the Division that they would also be absorbed into the service, saying if it had not been for COVID-19, they would have been given full employment by now as there was not enough space at the training academy of the service for all of them.

He said the service would also address the promotion issues raised by personnel at the Tamale Collection.

Revenue mobilisation

Col. (Retd) Damoah stated that the service was on course to achieve its set revenue target and urged personnel of the Tamale sector command to continue to work hard to also exceed their target, while management worked to address their challenges to ensure their efficiency and effectiveness in their duties.

The Tamale Sector Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Customs, Mr Raphael Owurani-Bediako, for his part disclosed that the Tamale Collection as at the end of April had exceeded its revenue target of GH¢125million for the year by collecting GH¢137 million and expressed the hope to do more before the end of the year.

He thanked the commissioner for giving them the warehouse and the office and expressed the hope that he would take the necessary steps to address the office and residential accommodation challenges faced by personnel of the Tamale Division.