News Desk
Ghanaian journalist and media management expert, Graham Kofi Baldwin has said, the media has now become tired of exposing corrupt deals within the Ghana Revenue Authority, GRA.
He says, the Finance Minister and other government officials who are to take action seem to not care about what goes on at the GRA.
He made these comments following public outcry over government’s attempts to pass the Electronic Transaction Levy bill into law. He says, this wouldn’t have been needed if attention is given to the country’s leaking tax basket, especially within the Ghana Revenue Authority.
The bold and courageous young journalist say, the government could make more money from the taxes that some officials of the Ghana Revenue Authority collects; however, a huge percentage of these monies go into private pockets.
The celebrated journalist who somewhere 2021, threatened to drag the Ghana Revenue Authority to court over some tax leakages said that, “if the government gets serious, there wouldn’t be anything like E-Levy brouhaha” he said.
He said, several millions of Ghana cedes is lost in transit within the Ghana Revenue Authority and wondered why the government is adamant over it despite numerous revelations in the media on the criminalities at the GRA.
“Unless otherwise officials who are supposed to take action are beneficiaries of the thievery at the GRA, they sit down without taking action” he said in his own words.
The tax basket is leaking; this is according to Graham Kofi Balwin. He has therefore said that several attempts he has made to draw government’s attention to the criminality have all fallen on deaf ears with the cartels having a field day.
“I have informed the Presidency on the development but till date, the government is adamant” he said and stated categorically that, there is need for government to rather focus on dealing with corruption at the GRA and forget about the E-Levy.
He said that the government cannot sit aloof while individuals continue to steal from the state and then, turn around to introduce another tax. He sees this to be unfair.
“The cartels at the GRA are very powerful to the extent that now they do the act in the open without fear or favour”
“They are bold and fearless because they claim to have some form of backing from some very powerful people in society”
The monies that keep going into individual pockets when prevented would cover the E-Levy that the government is pushing into the throats of Ghanaians.
He wondered why people continue to steal from the state without the state doing anything about it.
He therefore has advised that the government set up a committee to embark on investigations into the activities of these officials at the GRA who he described as criminals.
Source: www.thenewindependentonline.com
