Revenue Officers Tasked to Help Achieve 2018 Revenue Target

Mr Emmanuel Kofi Nti, the Commissioner General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), has encouraged revenue officers to do more to be able to help achieve its target for the year.

He said with the rough combination of effective supervisory skills and new initiatives in debt collection, the 2018 collection target should be within reach, despite challenges.

Mr Nti made these remarks during the commissioning of a clinic located at GRA’s Head Office’s premises; a project which was spearheaded by the Customs Staff Association to offer quality health care to its members.

The Commissioner General noted that the government had a mission of carrying out numerous projects and initiatives; however, all these could not be achieved if officers mandated to mobilize domestic tax revenue were not healthy.

Mr Nti noted that in the light of this it was therefore necessary for revenue officers to have regular checkups to stay healthy and for the early detention of disease.

He said they should as well adopt healthy lifestyles and exercise regularly as it played a major role in boosting one’s health.

Mr Nti, who commended the Staff Association for embarking on a laudable initiative, also noted that their welfare was primary to GRA as such they should work hard to sustain the Authority.

He was of the view that the image of GRA would improve if its revenue mobilization targets got better.

Dr Prince Pambo, Medical Director at the Civil Service Polyclinic, said one of the things he would advocate for was preventive health service, adding that “officers should not wait till conditions pull them down”.

He said his team would ensure that on a yearly basis they would run a comprehensive medical screening for them and it was the team’s desire that they would be given the permission to replicate this at all the various units GRA had across the country.

He explained that this would ensure that they had good data on officers and then would be able to put in measures that they were healthy and sound to perform their duties.

The Medical Director said currently they had a very sophisticated laboratory which could run all the basic laboratory investigations including full blood count, liver function test, kidney function test and cholesterol levels.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Mr Boniface Owusu, the Interim Chairman of Customs Staff Association, said one could not mobilize revenue if not mentally and physically fit.

He said due to this the GRA management found it very expedient to institute a health insurance scheme to address the health needs of its members, however, the commissioning of the clinic would bring health care delivery to the door step of officers.

He said the facility would improve their welfare and also lessen their burden with regards to high cost of treatment and accessing health facilities which were far away from them.

Mr Owusu told the GNA that the Association aimed at getting a befitting hospital for GRA, but would make good use of the clinic for now, whiles preparing towards achieving that goal.

He said the Association also aimed at bring in their retired officers, since they did not have the mutual insurance scheme card, the Association intended to enrol them on the mutual health programme so that they could have access to the facility.

Source: GNA