The Minister of Finance, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, has declared revenue mobilisation as his topmost priority for the running of the state.
According to him, this has become necessary due to the many expenditure handles in the country’s governance structure.
He made the declaration in an interaction with officers of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority as part of his tour of the port.
He therefore charged the tax officials to reverse the shortfall of about 11 percent in the first quarter revenue target.
The Minister also had a closed-door meeting with the officers and management of the Ghana Ports and Harbors Authority where he addressed some concerns about the impact of delays in clearing at the ports.
This is the first visit by the Minister of Finance to the ports as part of efforts to get adequate information on the operations of key revenue agencies.
According to data from the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, there is a shortfall of about 11% in revenue for the first quarter of 2024 as compared to the same time last year.
Declaring his intention to make revenue mobilisation as top priority, Dr Amin Adam charged the officers to step up their work as more opportunities exist in boosting revenue.
“Revenue Mobilisation is my topmost priority because you can understand that we need money to fund the budget, pay for salaries and carry on other government projects”.
“We may not be able to cover all the things in the budget, so there is the need for some loan support but don’t forget we must repay the loans and therefore we need the revenues to be able to cater for all this. The data shows that you are doing well and I want to commend you for it but also to remind you that there is a shortfall for the first quarter of about 11.3% and therefore I need you to do more to cover up and explore other opportunities that we can use to boost revenue for the state” he charged.
The Commissioner General of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Rev. Dr. Amishaddai Owusu Amoah, hinted that although there has been a shortfall, customs collection at Tema Port has grown by more than 70% in the period.
This he attributes to efforts by the officers to seal some loopholes in the collection system especially in Tema which has been the most concentrated port in the country.
The Minister together with the delegation also paid a courtesy call on the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority to discuss pertinent issues of high cost of doing business at the port.
Responding to the concerns of high port charges, the Director General of the Ghana Ports and Harboutrs Authority, Michael Luguji said the port authority cannot be blamed for the high charges at the port.
The Minister further promised to take up challenges of multiple agencies at the ports and find a lasting solution it.
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