CUSTOM OFFICERS CHARGE

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Friday, October 3, 2014

Some officers at Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) have expressed worry about the persistent activities of persons they claimed are operating under the name of the Chief of Staff and the presidency.

They claimed such activities are ‘weakening’ revenue mobilization for the country and appealed passionately to President John Mahama to call such persons to order.

The officers are questioning why the GRA should be made to extend the services of retired officers and even promote them to the rank of Deputy Commissioners when the Customs Division has only been able to recruit about 120 custom officers in the past five years due to the lack of resources to engage new staff.

The source said the monthly salaries of the two Deputy Commissioners engaged could cater for at least 10 junior customs officers to replace the aging staff in the Division.

They said currently, the average age of Customs Officers in active service was 50 years and the situation, coupled with the long period of low recruitments, had reduced the ability of the customs ability to perform their anti-smuggling functions at the country’s crossing points.

“It does not make sense to create non-existing portfolios for retired officers just to satisfy the selfish and fraudulent interest of a few,” they charged.

“Most of the maneuvers are done whenever the President travels outside the country and the recent two-year contracts handed to the retired officers are classic ample testimonies.”

Recently, the presidency handed two-year contracts to retired officers, which ruffled the feathers of some staff of the service.

The letter issued under the caption, ‘Request for Appointment of Two (02) Exemplary Officers’ purportedly signed by the Chief of Staff, Prosper Bani is requesting the appointments of Charles Sabblah and Kit Laryea for the positions of Capacity Building, Preventive (Security) Logistics ISO and Capacity Building, State Warehouse Operation & Auctions respectively.

Interestingly, it was the customs authorities that had requested the contract for the two retired officers.

The letter with reference H/Staff/3 served on CEPS on September 15, 2014 said “approval has been given for the under listed Deputy Commissioners of the Customs Division to be offered two years contract appointment each with effect from 1st January, 2015 as requested in your letter referred to above.”

The letter said the contract will end on 31st December, 2016 and asked the Customs Division to take the necessary steps to give effect to this decision.

According to the officers, in the past four years, the office of the Commissioner of Customs had witnessed four different Commissioners “simply because of the greedy interest of some politicians.”

“As if that is not enough, they are now coming down to operational areas to appoint and prolong their cronies to positions for their selfish ends,” they claimed.

Per the GRA Act, Law 791 of 2009, the President has the prerogative to appoint the Commissioner General and the three Commissioners for the three Divisions, however, all other appointments are to be done by the board but they claimed “this has not been the case of late.”

“Appointments as low as Chief Revenue Officers are done in at the presidency and brought down to the Commissioner General for implementation in complete disregard of the provisions of the law.”

“The authority of the Board and top management is constantly being undermined by letters coming from the seat of government.”

The officers said in 2010 a similar contract appointment and promotion of a retired Customs Officer which claimed to have originated from the Presidency was later cancelled by the late President John Atta Mills when it came to his attention.

“He was surprised that in this era of youth unemployment such extension of service can be made for jobs that any officer can perform,” they claimed, adding “the creation of these new positions at the level of Deputy Commissioners will also create friction between the existing two Deputy Commissioners for Customs operations and Preventive.”