Joe Ghartey
President Nana Akufo-Addo has appointed former Railways and Development Minister, Joe Ghartey, as the new Board Chair of the re-constituted Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) Board.
Mr. Ghartey, who is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Essikado-Ketan replaces Dr. Tony Oteng Gyasi, the immediate past board chair.
Mr. Ghartey was appointed by President Akufo-Addo on January 11, 2017 as Railways and Development Minister but resigned on January 7, 2021 to contest for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential race.
The eight-member board, chaired by Mr. Ghartey includes Dr. Alex Ampaabeng, a tax and fiscal policy enthusiast who is the representative of the Finance Ministry; Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Elsie Addo Awadzi, and Commissioner-General of the GRA, Julie Essiam.
The rest are the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Michael Okyere Baafi, a representative of the Trade Ministry; former Municipal Chief Executive of Asante Akim, representatives of the President, Madam Susan Akomeah and Madam Araba Bosomtwe, and Kwabena Abankwah Yeboah, a fellow of the Ghana College of Pharmacists.
Finance Minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, who inaugurated the Board in Accra urged members of the Board to discharge their duties as expected in order to help improve the country’s revenue mobilization.
The Minister also pledged to support the efforts of the board members with an open-door policy for continuous updates on revenue performance with a resolve to change the narrative and improve the country’s GDP.
Dr. Adam also advised the Board not to relent on its efforts to help meet the obligations required of the country under the International Monetary Fund (IMF), supported programmes.
The Board of the GRA, was reconstituted after the former Board Chairman, Dr. Tony Oteng-Gyasi resigned from his position resulting in the dissolution of the entire board.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah