25% bonus for CEPS officials

THE Ministry of Finance has paid a bonus of 25 per cent to personnel of the Custom, Exercise and Preventive Service (CEPS) for collecting revenue above the target set for the year.

The bonus this year is 10 per cent higher than what was paid in previous years. The aim is to motivating staff to increase domestic revenue collection to at least 50 per cent above the revenue target set for CEPS in the current fiscal year.

The Commissioner of CEPS, Mr Kofi Opoku Ntiamoah, annouced this when he addressed the fifth national congress of the Junior Staff Association of the service at Ho at the weekend.

He said it is historic for the Ministry of Finance to have offered bonus above the traditional bonus rate paid to workers and said the service has so far achieved 20 per cent above target, stressing that “it is pertinent for workers to compliment the bonus gesture by collecting more than 50 per cent as pledged”.

Mr Opoku-Ntiamoah, therefore, deplored the performance decline in revenue for last month and said it is not good for staff to relax in the face of the task ahead in fulfilling revenue obligations to the state.

Touching on the theme for the congress: “The CEPS Officer in an Era of Positive Change”, the commissioner warned that “their functions leave no room for corruption and other negative vices”.

“The CEPS officer of today faces an historic challenge to prove his worth in the midst of national problems that can best be solved if the nation can mobilise all human and revenue resources available to it,” he stated.

Mr Opoku-Ntiamoah said it is imperative for CEPS officers to adopt the positive principles of discipline, diligence, devotion and fortitude, coupled with efficiency and high moral standards, towards the fulfilment of government’s policy of zero tolerance for corruption.

In an opening address read on his behalf, the Volta Regional Minister, Mr Kwasi Owusu-Yeboah, underscored the need for “patriotic nationalism” on the part of CEPS officers who should avoid colluding, aiding or abetting criminals to cheat the state at the expense of efforts to improve upon the quality of life of the people.

He said after many years of mismanagement of the economy, the government has overhauled revenue collecting agencies with the view to maximising domestic revenue to run the business of government.

“It is your responsibility to ensure that you use this social relationship to the greatest advantage to the nation and not to your aggrandisement as individuals,” he stated.

In a solidarity message, the Federation of Associations of Unions of the National Revenue Agencies (FAUNRA), embracing the CEPS, Value-Added Tax (VAT) Service and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), entreated members to rise up to the challenge of mobilising adequate revenue to sustain national development.