Group picture of the participants. INSET: Owusu Boniface addressing the participants
Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister of Finance, has expressed concern about the way in which some customs officers cause embarrassment to the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) through their conduct, some of which border on criminality.
He said the current Akufo-Addo administration would not tolerate any misconduct by customs officers.
Mr Ofori-Atta gave the warning during the Special National Delegates’ Conference of the Senior and Junior Staff Association of the Customs Division of GRA at Winneba in the Central Region on Wednesday.
The conference was under the theme, “Responsibilities of the Customs Officer viz-a-viz his work environment.”
“This is a Herculean task but we are committed to achieving it since it requires officers who are committed to working hard in a professional way,” he pointed out.
Mr Ofori-Atta stressed the need for revenue officers to block revenue leakages and work closely with management to come out with innovative ways to boost revenue mobilization.
Deputy Commissioner in-charge of Warehouse, Freezones and ECOWAS, Christina Akoto Bamfo, noted that a lot of the reforms initiated under the various projects of the 1st and 2nd GRA Strategic Plans had begun bearing fruits.
“There is, however, no reform greater than the reforms of an individual’s mind and heart,” she noted.
Ms Akoto Bamfo called on the officers to discharge their duties properly without fear or favour in order to remain relevant.
“This needs transformational and visionary leadership at all levels, effective and dynamic teams who are committed, passionate and hold integrity to their chest. Working in a fair, equitable and transparent environment promotes excellence,” she stressed.
The National Chairman of the association, Owusu Boniface, mentioned some of the challenges confronting officers as inadequate personnel at the border posts and lack of logistics.
He hinted that morale of the officers was very low due to issues relating to promotions, transfers and upgrading.
Mr. Boniface stated that plans were underway to build a clinic with their own resources to serve the needs of both serving and retired officers.
From Sarah Afful, Winneba
Email:affulsco@gmail.com