Africa-Press – Ghana. Dr Mohammed Amin Adam has been seeking stronger partnership and cooperation with the World Bank after taking office as the substantive Finance Minister.
Dr Adam replaced Ken Ofori-Atta in the recent ministerial reshuffle done by President Akufo-Addo.
On Monday, February 19, Dr Amin Adam had a meeting with the World Bank Africa team in Accra.
Following the meeting, he said he is “Looking forward to stronger than ever cooperation.”
Dr Mohammed Amin Adam also held a meeting with officials of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) that same day.
He told the Commissioner-General of the GRA that he expects them to exceed the GH¢145 billion target outlined in the 2024 Budget.
He said, the Finance Ministry and the GRA need to urgently agree a roadmap 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,”he said.
Dr Amin Adam said these when he paid a working visit to the GRA on Monday February 19, his first major working visit after replacing Ken Ofori-Atta as Finance Minister in the recent ministerial reshuffle done by President Akufo-Addo on February 14.
“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,” he said.
He added “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 instill discipline and minimize revenue leakages through misdescriptions, misclassification, and over and under-invoicing.”
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