Former Railways Minister, Joe Ghartey has been appointed by President Akufo-Addo to chair the re-constituted Board of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
Other members of the 9-Member Board, which is chaired by the Member of Parliament for Essikado Ketan Constituency include: Dr. Alex Ampaabeng a tax and fiscal policy enthusiast, who is the representative of the Finance Ministry, Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana Elsie Addo Awadzi, and Commissioner General of the GRA, Julie Essiam.
The rest are the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Micheal Okyere Baafi who is on the board as the representative of the Trade Ministry, Immediate Past Municipal Chief Executive of Asante Akim, Madam Susan Akomea, who is on the board as a representative of the President , Madam Araba Bosomtwe Another representative of the President. Mr. Kwabena Abankwah Yeboah, a fellow of the Ghana College of Pharmacist is also joining the board.
Inauguration of the 9 Member Board
Inaugurating the Board today, May 22, 2024, the Finance Minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam charged the members to work hard to help improve Ghana’s revenue mobilization drive.
“We must improve revenue mobilization to achieve our medium-term revenue target of 18%-20% tax/GDP ratio and we must meet all indicative targets and structural benchmarks related to revenue under the Fund programme”, he said.
He urged the members to bring their experience on board to help reduce waste in the system while improving revenue collection.
“Given your extensive backgrounds and professional expertise, I am confident that each Board member will meet the expectations of government, and the general public”, he stressed.
Dr. Adam promised to support the efforts of the board members with the open-door policy.
“I am available to meet at short notice and also want to see more regular updates on revenue performance to ensure we remain aligned and focused as we advance”
The Finance Minister reminded the 9 member board that; “We must leave the inauguration with a dedicated resolve to change the narrative and eclipse a 20% threshold of revenue to GDP within the shortest possible time”.
Dr. Adam encouraged the board members not to forget that the country’s obligations under the International Monetary Fund-supported Post COVID Programme for Economic Growth.
The Minister also charged the 9-member board to immediately deal with fundamental human resource issues, particularly concerning promotions, capacity development, and sub-optimal physical working conditions will be critical.
Background
The Board of the GRA, is being reconstituted after the former Board Chairman, Dr. Tony Oteng-Gyasi resigned from his position.
This resulted in the dissolution of the entire board. In response to this development, President Akufo-Addo appointed Ms. Julie Essiam as the new Commissioner-General of the GRA, succeeding Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah.
Dr. Oteng-Gyasi assumed the role of Board Chair of the GRA in August 2021, succeeding Professor Stephen Adei.
Members of the dissolved board included Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, Adelaide Ahwireng, Prof. Peter Ohene Kyei, Kwabena Boateng, Dela Obeng-Sakyi, Maxwell Opoku-Afari, and Nana Ama Dokua Asiamah-Adjei.
Dr. Oteng-Gyasi, a former President of the Association of Ghana Industries and Managing Director and Chairman of Tropical Cable and Conductor Ltd, took over the role of Board Chair following Professor Stephen Adei's tenure from 2019 to 2021.
Credit: Joy Business