The Ghana Integrity Initiative, an anti-graft institution, has called on the President to revoke the appointment of Kwame Owusu as the Board Chair of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) until he is cleared of previous corruption allegations.
In a press statement issued Monday, the anti-corruption watchdog stated that the appointment of the former Managing Director of the Ghana Maritime Authority, Mr. Owusu as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Ghana Revenue Authority has evoked disappointment among the public particularly because of the events preceding his exit from his previous job.
According to the GII, the raging debates are focused on the integrity of Mr. Owusu and its implication to the public perception of the new institution he has been appointed to.
“It is important to remind the President of this sections of his oath of office –“… and that I dedicate myself to the service and well-being of the people of the Republic of Ghana and to do right to all manner of persons”.
The anti-corruption watchdog which is the local rep of Transparency International said the service which the President swore to all Ghanaians include holding himself and appointees accountable to the people of Ghana and making information on his accountability available to the people whose mandate he holds to govern.
“The President should also be guided by Ghana’s commitment to the Open Governance Partnership (OGP) which the Government of Ghana signed onto in 2011. The OGP commitment revolves around the pillars of transparency, empowering citizens to participate and harness new technologies to promote good governance. Therefore, publishing reports of an investigation into the conduct of public officers is evidence of good and open governance practice which would be consistent with their oath of office,” said the press release.
AccordingEfforts by governments over the years at widening the tax net has been fraught with many challenges. Anecdotal evidence suggests that in addition to the myriad of problems faced by Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), trust in government to use the tax revenue prudently for the benefit of the taxpayer sinks with every corruption exposed in the public sector.