Delete Kwame Owusu as Chairman of the Board of GRA – GII at Akufo – Addo

General News of Monday, July 15, 2019

Source: Graphic.com.gh

2019-07-15

The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) says that if President Nana Addo Akufo-Addo Dankwa insists on keeping Mr. Kwame Owusu as chairman of the Ghana Revenue Authority's board of directors ( GRA), it should then publish the report of investigations that contradict the allegation of conflict. interest and financial misappropriation against him.

For the GII, if President Akufo-Addo does not intend to publish the report, he should then revoke the appointment of Mr. Owusu.

The absence of revocation of Mr Owusu's appointment or publication of the report which has been approved by the President will only negate all GRA's efforts to promote voluntary compliance with Ghanaian tax legislation and thus allow the country between the two countries. ratio of 12.6% (Department of Finance budget data for 2018 from January to December)

In a press release dated Monday, July 15, 2019, the GII stated that the outcry caused by the appointment of Mr. Owusu to the position of Chair of the GRA Board of Directors resulted from an ongoing investigation into allegations of abuse of power and conflict of interest during its management. Director of the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA).

The IGI reminded President Akufo-Addo of certain parts of his oath and stated that the President swore to "stand by himself and the persons appointed responsible to the people of Ghana and to make the information about his responsibility available to him. those whose mandate it is to govern ".

Below you will find a copy of the GII press release:

IT CLAIMS TO WITHDRAW THE NEW CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE GRA FOR THE RELEASE OF THE IMPAIRMENT ALLEGATIONS

GII calls on the President to revoke the appointment of Mr. Kwame Owusu following the outcry over the outcry over ongoing investigations into allegations of abuse of power and conflict of interest involving Mr. Owusu.

The appointment of the former Director General of the Ghana Maritime Authority, Mr. Owusu, as Chairman of the Board of the Ghana Tax Authority has caused disappointment to the general public especially because of the events that preceded it.

The raging debate is focused on Mr. Owusu's integrity and its impact on the public's perception of the new institution to which he has been appointed.

It is important to remind the president of this section of his oath – "… and dedicate myself to the service and well-being of the people of the Republic of Ghana and to do justice to all kinds of people".

This service, which the President has sworn to all Ghanaians, consists in holding himself and appointing the persons appointed to be accountable to the people of Ghana and making the information on his responsibility available to those whose he holds the mandate.

In addition, the President should be guided by Ghana's commitment to the Open Governance Partnership (OGP) that the Government of Ghana signed in 2011.

The OGP's commitment is built around the pillars of transparency, empowering citizens to participate and exploiting new technologies to promote good governance.

Therefore, the publication of investigative reports on the conduct of public officials is evidence of a good and open practice of governance that would be consistent with their oath.

The efforts of governments over the years to broaden the tax net have faced many challenges.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that, in addition to the myriad of problems faced by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), confidence in the government that uses tax revenues cautiously for the benefit of the taxpayer decreases with every corruption revealed in the public sector.

In line with the foregoing, Gil believes that it is not appropriate to appoint a person whose integrity has been questioned before the Board of Directors. an entity as sensitive as GRA.

However, if the president wants to stick to his decision, then Gll asks him to publish the report of investigations contradicting the allegation of conflict of interest and embezzlement made to him. From his representative.

If the President does not revoke the appointment of Mr. Kwame Owusu or publish the report, it will only negate all GRA's efforts to promote voluntary compliance with the country's tax laws and thus allow the country to mark time with the tax-to-GDP ratio of 12.6% (Ministry of Finance tax data for 2018 from January to December)