Minister for Finance Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta has paid an unannounced visit to Tema Port to acquaint himself with current operations at the country’s revenue collection point to help block leakages.
The conduct of the mystery checks at the port by Mr. Ofori-Atta on Wednesday April 6, 2022 was in response to concerns raised over revenue leakages, after the successful passing of the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-levy) by Parliament.
In an attempt to raise revenue through home-grown policies to address the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic and other external shocks on the Ghanaian economy, government sought to introduce the E-levy in the 2022 Budget statement; a move aimed at widening the tax net and raising $1.15billion annually.
The introduction of the tax, like any other taxes, however, attracted backlash from a section of Ghanaians.
The Ministry of Finance, as part of its mechanism to engage other stakeholders, organised various town hall meetings across the country to address the concerns that characterized the discussions.
Key among the concerns raised was the seeming revenue leakages which threatened to undermine efforts to raise revenue domestically.
Government through the Ministry of Finance has shown commitment to addressing revenue leakages at the various revenue collection points in the country.
Finance Minister Ofori-Atta was accompanied to the Tema Port by the National Security Coordinator, Major General Francis Adu Amanfo; Deputy National Security Coordinator, Mr. Edward Asomani; and the Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Reverend Ammishaddai Owusu- Amoah.
The Minister and his team assessed operations at the Port to inform strategy formulation towards enhancing efficiency and promoting the revenue generation capacity of government.
With renewed efforts at plugging the revenue leakages at the port, Ghana stands to be the ultimate beneficiary.
It is anticipated that the successful implementation of strategies aimed at addressing loopholes at the port would expedite the post-pandemic recovery of the Ghanaian economy.
