Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, Ghana’s new Finance Minister, has been actively seeking to strengthen partnerships and cooperation with the World Bank after assuming office.
In a meeting with the World Bank Africa team in Accra on Monday, February 19, Dr. Adam expressed his anticipation for stronger cooperation between Ghana and the World Bank.
Following the meeting, Dr. Amin Adam emphasized the importance of exceeding revenue targets outlined in the 2024 budget during a meeting with officials of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) on the same day.
He stressed the urgency of agreeing on a roadmap to surpass the GH¢145 billion revenue target and meet critical needs, including infrastructure development. Dr. Adam highlighted the significance of achieving and surpassing revenue targets for the success of the IMF-Extended Credit Facility (ECF) Programme.
During his visit to the GRA, Dr. Amin Adam emphasized the importance of rolling out and expanding the E-VAT mechanism to boost revenue mobilization, despite challenges. He also called for reducing human contact in revenue processes and implementing a faceless assessment system to improve taxpayer experience and enhance revenue collection.
Addressing concerns about corruption in ports and trade, Dr. Adam expressed his intention to personally visit ports to engage with officials and assess issues firsthand. He underscored the need for the GRA to instill discipline and minimize revenue leakages caused by misdescriptions, misclassification, and other malpractices.
Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam’s proactive approach highlights his commitment to enhancing revenue mobilization and strengthening partnerships to support Ghana’s economic development agenda.
Below is the full address during the meeting…
SPEECH FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE MANAGEMENT OF
GHANA REVENUE AUTHORITY
FEBRUARY, 2024
Commissioner-General;
Deputy Commissioners; and
Management Members of GRA
- It is a pleasure to interact with you and your Management this afternoon. You are the first agency of the MOF that I am visiting since I became the substantive Minister. My Mission is simple: to indicate my strong support for domestic revenue mobilization and engage on how to advance this cause with speed, at scale and in a citizen friendly way.
- Undoubtedly, revenue mobilisation is a key priority of Government. This has assumed greater significance in the context of the on-going fiscal consolidation reforms. The role of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) in meeting this key priority is clearly beyond question. Now I believe you understand why I have prioritised GRA.
- Commissioner-General, this Institution continues to perform admirably well. Last year, you managed to exceed the revenue target for 2023. Although the public seems to question the framework for target setting, I congratulate you on this achievement. However, this achievement also reveals the depth of potential to be optimised. This view is also shared by the wider public.
- I expect that we work together, through a structured framework, to exceed the GH¢145 billion target outlined in the 2024 Budget. Quite sincerely, we need to urgently agree a roadmap to enable us to exceed the revenue target and meet pressing needs, including completing critical infrastructure.
- Achieving and exceeding the targets is also critical to the success of the IMF-Extended Credit Facility (ECF) Programme. We cannot afford to miss our commitments programme.
- Commissioner-General, I take this opportunity to reiterate to you and your team the three (3) key commitments you made under the programme for 2024:
- cleaning of the GRA taxpayer register by end-June 2024;
- complete data migration from all existing portals to the ITAS;
- operationalize the major modules (registration, returns filing and payments) in the system (and processes needed to be completed prior to that) by end December 2024.
- . I expect that your Team works assiduously to honour these obligations and on time. Attaining these and other targets as well as benchmarks will speak to and reinforce our commitment to stay the course on the IMF programme. This will continue to improve business sentiments and have a positive spill-over effect into other areas. We simply have to stay the course.
- Already, we seem to be lagging with the implementation of the 2024 Revenue measures which commenced from January 1, 2024. In as much as we are challenged in the implementation of the VAT on domestic electricity consumption, the same cannot be said for the other measures. The delay will obviously affect our ability to generate revenue at an optimal level. We need to operate with urgency and focus in these matters.
- Commissioner-General, it is also important that we achieve operational efficiency. This we must do by leveraging the power of digital solutions under Government’s Digitalisation Agenda. Optimising the available data (GhanaCARD, DVLA, Lands Commission, and others) to inform revenue collections decisions should be a top priority in the next two-months. It will not only address potential tax avoidance but improve efforts to address tax evasion.
- It is also time to roll-out and expand the E-VAT mechanism, despite whatever challenges exist. We saw the potential collections from the Pilot Phase. We cannot continue to prolong and delay the implementation, especially under the programme. We must also work with renewed urgency towards reducing the human contact in the revenue processes and introduce a faceless assessment system. This is a sure way to give taxpayers a great experience and boost revenue mobilization.
- Commissioner-General, as you may be aware, the perception of corruption in the ports or trade and entry remains very high. I have seen reports that tend to confirm some of these perceptions. And I know you all have received similar reports. We continue to lose revenue through the actions and inactions of clearing agents, shipping companies and some of our own customs officials.
- I personally intend to visit the ports, together with some of your officers to engage and assess for myself some of the issues at first-hand. We need you to continue to instil discipline and minimize revenue leakages through misdescriptions, misclassification, over and under invoicing.
- Commissioner-General, I assure you and your Team of my strong support. We are here to serve a country and that is our utmost priority. If it is to do with increasing revenue, do not hesitate to reach out to me or my Team at the Ministry. Let’s work together with renewed energy for God and Country.
