General News of Friday, 18 October 2019
Source: Day Break
Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr. Kwaku Agyemang Kwarteng and Mr. Carlos Kingsley Ahenkorah, Deputy Trade and Industry, have been sacked from their position as board members of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) with immediate effect, DAYBREAK can authoritatively report.
This was communicated to them by the new board chairman, Professor Stephen Adei.
According to sources, Professor Adei said he was sacking the two politicians from the board to make way for the chief directors of the ministries they represent to be on the board.
Strangely, DAYBREAK learned that, instead of the two chief directors being on the board, it is only the chief director of the Ministry of Trade and Industry who is on the board, with a former Databank employee and now Technical Advisor to the Finance Minister, Mr. Ernest Akore, as the representative of the Finance Ministry.
It would be recalled that last Tuesday, DAYBREAK reported that Professor Stephen Adei had now assumed the role of the substantive Commissioner General of the authority.
Mr. Emmanuel Kofi Nti, former Commissioner-General, retired from the revenue collection agency on 1st October 2019, with Mr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, Commissioner for Domestic Tax Revenue Division (DTRD), subsequently become Acting Commissioner-General.
Though not announced, sources say Professor Adei is acting as the Commissioner-General just like how he became the current chair of the board, without a letter from His Excellency, President Nana Akufo-Addo or the approval of the Council of State.