George Blankson, Commissioner-General of GRA
The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has launched a code of ethics and conduct to bolster integrity among the staff.
George Blankson, Commissioner-General of the GRA, speaking at the launch of the code, admitted that integrity or the lack of it in revenue administration was a global phenomenon, stressing that his outfit intends to adopt a ‘zero tolerance’ attitude for any form of malfeasance or misconduct by staff.â€
He urged the staff of the three main divisions of the GRA- Domestic Tax, Customs and Support Services Units to make individual and collective commitment to the virtues of honesty, integrity and commitment to their jobs.
He gave the assurance that the provisions of the document would be applied consistently.
Mr. Blankson later signed the new document, which is expected to address the values and principles underpinning staff behaviour, impartiality in service delivery, bribery and corruption, misuse of official position and above all high sense of self control.
Other benefits to be derived from the code of ethics and conduct include the establishment of a sound and trustworthy environment for service delivery, equal treatment of taxpayers, reward for good performance, positive impact on maxim voluntary tax compliance and increase in revenue collection.
Dr Kwabena Duffuor, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, in a speech read on his behalf at the launch of the GRA’s code of ethics and conduct, admonished GRA to deal strictly with tax officials who engage in malfeasance and deviant behaviour.
The latest corruption survey by the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) revealed that some divisions of the GRA were ranked high in the corruption index.
The minister noted that “strict punishment must be enforced for such behavour. The business environment must not only be fair but any inference of unfairness must be removed entirely, integrity demands all workers of the GRA to do their work with honesty, courtesy and respect to the customer. If taxpayers are confronted with unnecessary demands and delays, obviously the cost of doing business will continue to rise.â€
He stated that few officers who intend to destroy the image of the Authority must be dealt with according to the vision, mission and core values of the GRA which provides the strategic direction of the Authority.
He cautioned that the code of ethics and conduct should be implemented to the letter in all fairness, adding, “It must not become another nice document to be left on the shelves for cobwebs. The GRA has integrity issues to be addressed and this must be an urgent task. It must be taken with all the seriousness it deserves.â€
He urged the management and staff of the GRA to develop a new mindset, adopt new attitude towards work, considerably improve services to customers by being service-oriented, act professionally with integrity, apply and enforce the tax laws without fear or favour and regularly educate customers on their rights, responsibilities and obligations.
“The adaptation of the code of ethics and conduct clearly indicates the readiness of the GRA to boldly address issues of integrity and good governance and to steer the affairs of the emerging organization in a progressive manner. It shows that the GRA is ready for business.â€
By Emelia Ennin Abbey
