Former Director-General and Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management
and Public Administration (GIMPA), Prof Stephen Adei has been sworn in
as the new Chair of the Board of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
Also sworn at a ceremony on Friday by the Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta was Eugene Asante Ofosuhene as a Board Member.
The Ministry has also accepted the retirement notification of Kofi Nti,
the current Commissioner-General, which takes effect on October 1, 2019.
Mr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, Commissioner for Domestic Tax Revenue
Division (DTRD), will become the acting Commissioner-General also
responsible for DTRD.
“Government is aiming to raise ¢45.2bn in domestic revenues as the 2019
target even though GRA is 7.3% behind target as at the end of July,” Mr
Ofori-Atta said.
He added that “although the country’s tax revenues have grown
consistently over the last few years, Ghana’s tax-to-GDP ratio at 17.6%
is still well below the middle-income country average for Africa.”
The GRA’s efficiency in tax collection has become even more crucial for
achieving sustainable revenue targets that reflect Ghana’s developmental
agenda. The contribution of the two new Members of the Board is
essential to ensuring the achievement of GRA’s objective of revenue
mobilisation in an era of Ghana Beyond Aid.
Ken Ofori-Atta told the new Board Members of government’s faith in their
ability to contribute towards the elimination of revenue administration
inefficiencies, undue external influences, unassigned ‘security
personnel’ and corruption. The Minister stressed that they bring renewed
hope and that he has strong trust in their high moral standing and
patriotism.
Prof. Adei is an accomplished change agent and fearless patriot, while
Mr Ofosuhene, a former Controller & Accountant-General, is a
disciplined professional. Both are men of unquestioned integrity.
He called on the citizenry to fulfil their civic responsibilities to pay
their taxes. He also mentioned the new partnership between Faith-Based
Organisations and Government to encourage their congregations to “give
to Caesar what is Caesar’s” and promote new responsiveness for all
citizens to protect the public purse.
“GRA is well-positioned to lead Ghana’s aspiration to use digital
technologies to improve the citizen experience, broaden the tax base and
to particularly capitalise on the widespread penetration of mobile
phones in the economy”, said the Finance Minister.
The two new Board Members bring on board a critical knowledge and wisdom
acquired through their rich experiences, which the Minister believes
will be required to confront the challenges to raising the targeted
revenue to support government’s programmes and activities.
Minister Ofori-Atta charged the two new board members to help GRA build a
strong reputation for discipline, integrity and righteousness, be a
meritocratic organisation that is known for high performance, have
digitised internal processes in Custom and Domestic taxes that improve
responsiveness to the public and fully implement digital systems that
enable citizens access to tax services anytime and anywhere
In response, the new Chairperson for the Board, Professor Adei, said “I
have an absolute zero-tolerance for corruption, and as captains of the
ship, we must be seen not to do wrong”.
On his part, Mr. Ofosuhene stressed that “the era of using GRA for personal interest is over”.
The Minister thanked Mr Kofi Nti for his meritorious service and
commended him for his diligence in establishing a platform for a new and
transformed GRA.
