Commissioner General of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Rev. Dr. Amishaddai Owusu-Amoah, has been sacked.
Reasons for his removal from office has not been assigned.
According to pro-government asaaseradio.com, he will be replaced by 61-year-old Julie Essiam, who until now, was the Head of Support Services Department at GRA
The report added that the deputy director general in charge of operations at the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Pearl Darko, has been assigned to take up the role of Commissioner responsible for the Support Services Division of the GRA until further notice.
The online portal added that it has information that a senior New Patriotic Party (NPP) sitting Member of Parliament will be appointed as the Chairman of the new Board of Directors of the GRA.
The Commissioner of Customs Division, Alhaji Seidu Iddrisu Iddisah; and the Commissioner of Domestic Tax and Revenue Division, Edward Appenteng Gyamerah; are also expected to be replaced by new appointees following their statutory retirement, the report added.
It added an official announcement will be made soon.
CONTROVERSY.
The dismissal of the GRA Commissioner General comes days after the staff union issued a strongly worded statement accusing Vice President, Dr Bawumia of peddling falsehood, during an engagement with the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry last Wednesday, 20 March 2024 that Bawumia that businesses are being harassed in the name of tax collection.
Dr Bawumia also attributed this issue to the GRA’s imposition of unattainable targets on its officers, leading to excessive taxation of existing businesses.
But in a press release, dated March 22, 2024, the GRA Staff union, condemned the assertion.
“We would like to state unequivocally that, we the workers of GRA find this statement unfortunate and consider it as an attack on the efforts of the hardworking staff of the Authority which if not discontinued, would incur the displeasure of workers, disrupt revenue collection efforts and breed industrial disharmony,” the Union said.
They added that “we wish to place on record that the unprecedented growth in Tax revenue collected in 2023 which yielded in excess of GH₵113bn is a major factor that has kept Ghana in the IMF bailout program. It is also an undeniable fact that the GRA has since the 2020 fiscal year met and, in some cases, exceeded the annual revenue targets despite the challenges of COVID-19.”
“Indeed, the least we expect from the Vice President, if he would not appreciate the efforts of the Authority in raising Tax Revenue, is not to put the lives of our hardworking staff at risk with such unfortunate comments,” the press release concluded.
