GRA TOR Sector Command bags GH¢5.6 billion in 2021
The Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) Sector Command of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) exceeded its 2021 target by GH¢225 million.
It mobilised GH¢5.61 billion, as against a revenue target of GH¢5.38 billion last year.
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The performance of the TOR Sector Command contributed about 72 per cent to the GH¢7.8 billion petroleum revenue collected last year.
The GRA Customs Division TOR Sector Commander, Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) Geoffrey Oduro Kwaasi, disclosed this at a staff dinner and awards ceremony in Tema.
He attributed the success to a number of strategies, including the introduction of technology, as well as the diligence of the staff.
Winners
Awards were given to staff and stakeholders who contributed to the success of the command in 2020 and 2021.
Principal Revenue Officer Johnson Kenneth Nassah won the Best Worker (Senior Staff category), while Ms Ruth Abena Biney emerged the Best Worker (Junior Staff Category) for 2020.
Award winners for 2021 included Mr Samuel Arthur, Best Worker (Senior Staff category); Mr Emmanuel Adjei, Best Worker (Junior Staff category); Vivian Ayorkor, Best Female NABCO worker, and Emmanuel Sekoh Annorbah, Best Male NABCO worker.
Senior Revenue Officer Naomi Chartey, who is a 2021 World Customs award winner, received the TOR Sector Commander’s Special Award.
The winners took home citations and undisclosed sums of money.
Stakeholders’ awards
The command also rewarded some of its stakeholders for their outstanding contribution to the success of the organisation.
They included the Outstanding Bulk Oil Company 2021, Fuel Trade; the Outstanding Oil Marketing Company 2021, GOIL Ghana, and the Outstanding Depot for 2021, Tema Fuel Company.
Mobilisation strategy
Mr Kwaasi explained that the target for 2021 was exceeded because of a number of strategic measures the authority adopted.
They included the identification and blocking of loopholes, as well as the deployment of technology to monitor downstream petroleum activities to ensure that various stakeholders paid the right taxes to the state.
The GRA Customs Division TOR Sector Commander commended staff for their exceptional effort at revenue mobilisation and helping the sector command to meet its target and urged them to bring their collective strength to bear on achieving the revenue target for this year.
He also lauded the efforts of stakeholders, including oil marketing companies (OMCs), bulk distribution companies (BDCs) and depots, as well as the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), the regulator of the downstream petroleum industry, for implementing the right policies, and Strategic Mobilisation Ltd, an auditing firm, for keeping the command on its toes with its unique way of auditing, which had cleared all forms of misconception about operations in the petroleum downstream sector.
Enhance performance
A Deputy Commissioner of Customs in charge of Petroleum Operations, Baffour Yaw Anane Asare, said the positive results achieved by the TOR Sector in 2021 showed that the various policies being implemented were yielding positive results.
He expressed the hope that last year’s feat would energise the management and staff of the Sector Command to collect the bulk of the over GH¢9 billion targeted for this year.
Mr Asare disclosed that the GRA hoped to train 50 of its staff in downstream petroleum management for the purpose of enhancing the collection of appropriate revenue for national development.
Commendation
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NPA, Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, congratulated the management and the staff of the GRA on their leadership and support for all the plans that had been formulated.
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