The Minister of Finance, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, has pledged better conditions of service for the staff of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Customs officers in a bid to enhance revenue generation.

He promised to provide the officers of the GRA, particularly the Customs Division, with the needed logistics and attend to their welfare concerns, including promotion issues, rehabilitation of their barracks and offices, roads within their operational area and also provide them with quad bikes to be able to go to the communities and monitor unapproved routes to check smuggling and abuse of customs protocol by importers and exporters to increase revenue generation.

He said this during a visit to the GRA and Customs posts at the Aflao border last Friday in the company of the Commissioner-General of GRA, Julie Essiam, and the Commissioner, Customs Division, Brigadier General Ziblim Bawa Ayorrogo, and some senior staff of the ministry to interact with the officials of GRA.

The minister and the team also toured some of their facilities and discussed measures and solutions to shore up revenue. 

Concern, reforms

Dr Adam stated that smuggling activities along unapproved routes and inadequate logistics which were some factors causing the shortfall in revenue generation would soon be a thing of the past after the provision of the needed logistics.

He expressed hope that the GRA would exceed its revenue target this year to match or exceed that of last year's which it exceeded by about 49 per cent. That, according to the Minister of Finance, would be achieved through the implementation of reforms to address issues of leakages as a result of people smuggling or using unapproved borders.

"What I have seen here gives me hope. I can see that the men and women are up to it. Last year, revenue growth was about 49 per cent. I know 

that we can repeat it or even do better but it is important that we engage so that everyone can come on board. I am very happy about the energy and resilience I have seen in the officials here to pursue revenue," Dr Adam stated.