GRA Chairman says negative things written about him

Jul 05, 2016 Letters

Dear Editor;
I write in response to the editorial entitled “THE HAMMER HAS FALLEN ON THE GRA” that appeared in your newspaper of July 2, 2016 in which certain adverse claims were made about me as Chairman of the Governing Board of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).
Let me at the outset say that I wholeheartedly support the attempt by the newspaper to bring to light any misconduct or acts of impropriety, incompetence or otherwise by me or any member of the Board or the organization. GRA is a public entity which has an obligation to operate to the high expectations of the people of Guyana. I, like every other public figure, must expect that my public responsibilities will be subject to the scrutiny of the Press. I have no qualms therefore with you attempting to shed light on what is taking place at the GRA.As tough as it is, I am prepared to accept the criticisms that come as a result of your work as long as you do not hit deliberately below the belt which is what your editorial does.
Consequently, what I find disappointing is your unwillingness to present your opinion on the basis of the complete story. While your editorial levels many allegations at me, I wish to address one of them in particular, and that is the alleged mistreatment of the Commissioner-General (Ag), since that issue foreshadows all the other claims made therein and taints readers’ views of my disposition towards her and the organization.
I contend that it is incorrect to say that the Commissioner-General (Ag) was sent on leave without requesting it. Ms. Griffith requested leave and I consented to her leave request. Given the time that she wanted to proceed on leave, she and I discussed pertinent issues and their implications in the presence of the Corporate Secretary who also serves as Secretary to the Board. During that meeting and given what we knew at the time, Ms. Griffith and I agreed also what would happen once she returned from leave. Therefore, there was nothing high-handed about what was done at the GRA.
Before the meeting with Ms. Griffith, I met with the senior staff and reminded them that the way things were going and the direction in which the GRA was heading would result in tough decisions. This meeting was held at the behest of the Board.
This is a good opportunity to point out that the GRA has a strategic focus and to share with the public things that the organization has already done. The strategic objectives of the GRA are fivefold.
• The first is to optimize revenue collection. The GRA is moving away from revenue stability which was the focus of previous administrations. It is seeking to collect all the revenues that are out there and to do so as efficiently as possible. The emphasis is on achieving higher levels of revenue through higher levels of voluntary compliance.
• The second is to serve the vast majority of taxpayers of this country. Taxpayers in many parts of Guyana are not being served or are being underserved and that has to change. Guyanese businesses will never improve their competitive position if they have to spend inordinate sums of money and amounts of time just to comply with tax laws or to avoid them. In addition, the GRA has imposed obligations on taxpayers and when thosetaxpayers need help to meet those obligations, they must receive it hassle-free and at great convenience. Too many taxpayers have to travel too far and too long without certainty that their journey will be successful. Thus, the GRA must put itself in a position to eliminate or reduce that worry and no one will be allowed to frustrate that effort.
• The third objective is to ensure that the work of the organization is driven by modern technology that also offers taxpayers the convenience of greater amounts of self-service.
• The fourth objective is to ensure that the work of the GRA supports and helps to promote the development of an environmentally sustainable economy. GRA must spend more of its money in the communities in which it operates to help boost those communities and to further the government’s goals of sustainable development through the provision of appropriate tax services and measures.
• The fifth objective is to ensure that the dedicated and industrious staff members of the GRA are able to work in suitable and acceptable conditions of safety, comfort and satisfaction and that they are justly rewarded. The Board understands that if those needs were not fully met, then achieving all other objectives was at risk.
All of the aforementioned issues were identified and discussed at the Retreat in February of this year while leadership was in place.
Also, the organization has begun to develop new metrics to measure performance and to address issues of corruption, particularly in the area of Customs. Further, GRA has already moved to extend the life of a”Tender Compliance Certificate” from three (3) months to six (6) months so that people could concentrate on running their businesses and becoming more competitive. GRA is actively examining other compliance issues to lighten further the administrative burden of taxpayers, particularly businesses.
As such, GRA is not groping in the dark for a direction or methods to bring desired relief to taxpayers and the organization as your editorial implies. It is my hope that this letter provides readers with balance to the opinions expressed in the identified editorial.
Rawle F. Lucas
Chairman, Governing Board of Revenue of Authority

1 thoughts on “GRA Chairman says negative things written about him”

Surujpaul Rampersaud July 5, 2016 at 11:20 am

Surprised to hear that Mr Lucas is talking about dedicated and industrious employees when just a few days ago he spoke of not trusting anyone in the office. Administrators do have doubts but we never expect them to go public with them. The are officials who are expert workers but poor adminístrators. Time will tell in which category Mr Lucas falls.