Aflao Customs Division exceeds target

A total of GH¢107,384,895 in revenue was collected last year by the Aflao Sector of the Customs Division of Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) -- GH¢7,884,895in excess of the annual target of GH¢99,500,000.

Mr. Confidence Nyadzi, the Division’s Aflao Sector Commander, said this during the Division’s annual excellence awards held in Aflao at the weekend.

“This has been the first time in nine years that the sector exceeded its target, and it was done through collaboration with other agencies, tax education and preventive operations,” he said.

The Sector Commander said the figure excludes sales from auctioned goods, potential revenue locked up in unclaimed goods in the state warehouse, and GH¢1,038,201 made from preventive arrests.

Mr. Nyadzi said the Sector also made a number of non-revenue gains, including the recent arrest of a cache of ammunition, about 99,000 cartridges, narcotic arrests and others.

He said inadequate human resource, logistics, slow processing of awards and payments for informants are some of the challenges facing the Sector.

Mr. Fifi Kwetey, in-coming Minister for Transport, commended the Sector and implored them to work harder, saying government will continue to provide the necessary support.

He said under a stringent policy change government cannot borrow even a pesewa from the central bank this year, and revenue mobilisation ought to be more stringent.

Mr. George Blankson-Commissioner of the GRA, in an address read for him said the Customs Division has been given a revenue target of GH¢10.16billion for 2016, and that the Aflao Sector is to collect GH¢193.29million.

He said security at the frontier is of paramount importance in view of the 2016 elections and recent arrest of weapons.

Deserving personnel and collaborators were honoured, with Diamond Cement Ghana Limited receiving a corporate award for being the foremost single revenue payer.