The Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Ms. Julie Essiam, has resigned.
In a letter dated January 20, 2025, and addressed to the president through the Finance Minister-designate, she expressed her gratitude to the government for the opportunity to serve as Commissioner-General.
“With the greatest depth of gratitude, after five and a half years of an incredible career at the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), I write to resign from my position as the Commissioner-General of the Authority, with immediate effect,” the letter read.
Ms. Essiam served less than a year as Commissioner-General after being appointed by former President Akufo-Addo on March 24, 2024. Prior to her appointment, she was responsible for the GRA’s Support Services Division.
In her letter, she highlighted the GRA’s revenue performance, which exceeded expectations for the 2024 fiscal year. The GRA recorded a revenue of GH₵152.977 billion, surpassing the target of GH₵145.998 billion by GH₵6.978 billion, an increase of 4.8%. This performance led to a Tax to GDP ratio of 17.0%, exceeding the target of 16.1%. Overall, this represents a 35.3% nominal growth compared to the 2023 performance.
Despite this success, Ms. Essiam emphasized that there are still opportunities for a fundamental transformation of the Authority’s operating model for optimal revenue mobilization.
“This notwithstanding, there still remain opportunities for a fundamental transformation of the Authority’s operating model for optimal revenue mobilization,” she stated.
She suggested the urgent full implementation of the IMF Structural Benchmarks, including the execution of the Integrated Tax Administration System (ITAS) for the Domestic Tax Revenue Division (DTRD), and the sustainability of the ongoing Taxpayer Data Cleansing initiative.
“I have outlined all of this in my report to be shared with the Honorable Finance Minister-Designate,” she said.
“The opportunity to serve this nation in this capacity has been an honor and a privilege,” she concluded.
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