GRA EWP holds review meeting

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) Employee Wellbeing Programme (EWP), over the weekend held an annual management retreat to review activities for last year and planned for 2014.

The meeting was attended by GRA management and EWP focal persons from across the country and other stakeholders.

The GRA EWP established in 2006 has the objective to enhance the health status of GRA employees and their families and provide them with social protection.

It also aims to educate the employees on their health needs as well as afford them the opportunity to be screened for some of the most common diseases.

Mr Anthony Minlah, Commissioner Support Services, GRA, said the EWP had been expanded to cover three key areas of health, financial wellness and social protection, after a successful HIV and AIDS workplace policy.

He said management of the Authority sees employees as the most important resource and therefore place staff wellbeing at the heart of the policy, which aims at increasing healthy and productive life of employees.

Mr Minlah said the programme include social protection and financial wellness component since financial pressures could additionally trigger psychological problems and cause illnesses.

He indicated that the provision of increase social protection through retirement benefit schemes, health insurance and other insurance schemes reduce pressure on employees and increase their well-being.

Mr Minlah said commitment of staff had been on the high side as far as screening exercises had been scaled up as they are assured of confidentiality.

He said the plan for 2014 is to scale up the screening exercises and increase training in financial wellness for staff to enable them prepare adequately for their retirement.

He said the EWP is in the process of introducing an electronic health management system to make it easier for staff to access their medical records conveniently at major hospitals to be signed on to the programme across the country.

Other programmes to be rolled out in 2014 include Business Continuity Plan under which all GRA Offices would be giving first aid kits with trained personnel to man them.

Mr Yusuf Quainoo, National Focal Person GRA EWP, said the programme had been successful because of management support and involvement.