Ghana loses $150 million every month due to tax evasion at the Tema port

• Posted on June 13, 2013
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

Painstaking investigation conducted by policy think tank, Centre for Freedom and Accuracy (CFA) has uncovered that Ghana is losing USD 150 million every month due to tax evasion at the Tema port.

In collaboration with Ace Journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anass under its National anti-corruption watch, the CFA established that huge numbers of containers of imported goods escaped the tax net daily at the Tema Port.

Briefing the media on the outcome of the investigations in Accra, Executive Director for the Centre for Freedom and Accuracy, Andrew Awuni challenged government to show enough commitment towards stopping the revenue leakages uncovered at the nation’s ports and harbours.

He further called for a complete overhaul of the revenue collection agencies to save the public purse.

According to Mr. Awuni, some selfish individuals and private companies continually evaded taxes, import levies and excise duties at the Tema port.

“We have got some people who have been sent to the Ports and Harbours by our government to watch the place and they have joined with some unscrupulous private sector operators who charge up to GHC200 and allow importers to evade taxes.”

He noted with deep concern that patriotism had waned in public servants whose actions have contributed to the nation’s economic despair.

Mr. Awuni said his outfit would appropriately name and shame some of the corrupt government officials who are looting the nation’s scarce resources at various sectors of the economy.

“Ghana is in the danger of losing control over its resources and sources of revenue to private individuals some of whom are foreigners and they do so in connivance with their associates who are Ghanaians; as one of our strategies, we will soon name and shame those persons and this should be a matter of concern to all of us.”

Ace investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas implored the government to audit the revenue systems at the ports and harbours every three months.

As a best practice to push the national agenda forward, he called for a bipartisan approach to the issue at hand.

Anas Aremeyaw suggested that there should be an inherent system at the nation’s ports to check the corruption there.

He decried the horrendous service conditions of CEPS officials and thus appealed to government to motivate them to live beyond reproach.

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