Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has threatened to relocate his office to Tema Port as part of drastic measures to combat what he describes as alarming levels of smuggling and revenue leakage at Ghana’s busiest port.
Speaking on the Citi FM on Friday, July 25, Dr. Forson expressed deep frustration over the scale of illicit trade operations, particularly the infiltration of smuggled goods from neighbouring Togo into Ghana’s markets.
“In the coming days, I think I may relocate my office to the Tema Port. It may have to get to that for us to see what is going on,” he said.
He revealed that intelligence and whistleblower reports have uncovered widespread diversion of goods through Togo’s ports, which are then smuggled into Ghana, bypassing customs and tax systems.
“You can see a lot of smuggling from the Togo port entering through Ghana, and it is a matter of significant concern. This smuggling not only takes away our revenue, but also takes away employment from Ghanaians,” Dr. Forson lamented.
He warned that the ongoing revenue losses are undermining the country’s economic recovery efforts and putting legitimate businesses at a disadvantage.
To tackle the problem, Dr. Forson said the government is preparing to strengthen the preventive arm of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), with a focus on tightening border and port controls.
“This is a serious issue. If we don’t address it, it will cripple our revenue base,” he said.
Source: AdomOnline
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