Political Scientist Prof Ransford Gyampo has detailed, unfair and illegitimate contract extensions for key officers at the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), including the Commissioner General of GRA, Rev. Dr Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, who has been at post even though his post-retirement contract ended in 2021.
The happenings at the revenue mobilisation outfit are creating tension and do not augur well for its proper functioning.
According to Prof Gyampo, the Akufo-Addo-led “Government initiated a great policy to suspend the granting of post-retirement contracts to people working in some state agencies where labour and expertise aren’t scarce, as part of expenditure rationalization measures. In accordance with this, many requests for post-retirement contracts have been turned down.”
True to the policy “Kofi Nti, a former GRA Commissioner-General who was appointed on a 4-year contract was made to leave office halfway through his contract after serving only two and half years because he reached the retirement age of 60 before the expiration of his contract.
He was not given a contract extension.
Amishaddai Amoah took over from Kofi Nti and together with Col. Damoah and Juliana Essiam who worked in the same area of revenue generation; they all attained 60 years 2 years ago.
Col. Damoah was made to leave office because, among other controversial legal tussles, he had also attained the retirement age of 60 years.
But Amishaddai was given a one-year contract extension upon attaining 60 years.
Even though the illegitimate contract extension of Amishaddai expired in 2021, he was made to remain at post without any official contract or official cover for another one (1) whole year ending last year, 2022. I am reliably informed that the board chairman of the GRA with support from Ken Ofori Attah is unilaterally and without recourse to his board members, seeking two more years of a post-retirement contract extension for Amishaddai. This has created deep-seated tension and anger among board members of the GRA in a manner that would not auger well for revenue generation and collection,” he revealed.
Prof Gyampo is of the opinion that in the spirit of “respect for rules, fairness, equity, and the need for us to give opportunities to others”, the President ought to act, explaining that in this current economic challenges, the GRA must not suffer such challenges.
“Mr President, what you seek in these current times of economic crisis, is better supervision of revenue generation and collection activities. You need not violate your own policy and unnecessarily discriminate against others by denying post-retirement contracts to others and approving same for Amishaddai,” he pointed out.