GRA officials must be lined up for prosecution over Ibrahim’s cheques - Bentil

The Vice President of policy think tank, IMANI Ghana Kofi Bentil has suggested that Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) officials who accepted dud cheques from Ibrahim Mahama be lined up and made to face prosecution for gross dereliction of duty.

Mr Bentil questioned why these officials allowed the former President John Dramani Mahama’s brother to raise a bill to that huge amount arguing that they face the law.

Speaking on Joy FM’s News File on Saturday, the Vice President of IMANI Ghana blamed Mr Ibrahim Mahama for taking undue advantage of the situation.

’44 cheques is a trend, the amount involved is colossal. Honestly I don’t think Mr Ibrahim Mahama is the problem here, I think he took undue advantage of a situation. It is the people who sat there and took 44 different cheques and let him raise a bill to that tune who must be lined up and prosecuted for gross dereliction of duty,’ he suggested.

He lashed out at GRA officials for harassing people who fail to pay exorbitant duties whilst high profile people walk ‘free’.

‘This also tells you the kind of problems we have in that system, if you and I go and sweat in the cold in Norway or England work for years and buy a simple car and you fail to pay some of those exorbitant duties they lay on you, people walk from all kinds of places, take your car away and that is legal plunder and it is wrong. And let other people go away with things like this, so this thing is bad for what it is, it just to be a high profile case because the former President’s brother is involved and I think because of that it’s going to gather a lot more attention but maybe not for the bad aspects. I will shine a light on these practices,’ he said.

Mr Ibrahim Mahama, Chief Executive Officer of Engineers & Planners who was picked up by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) on Tuesday for questioning gave the cheques to GRA for construction equipment he cleared at the Tema Port.

He has been instructed to pay GH¢12.7 million by May 8, 2017 to the State.