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INTERVENTION NEEDED AT GRA
It appears that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) is in the news for all the wrong reasons. First, it was about the shake-up and the public firings of three senior officials by its Chairman who claimed that they were performing poorly.
Not long after, the Chairman found himself in hot water trying to defend himself on a number of issues including his decision to hire a personal assistant to work at his CrithlowLabour College office and as reported is being paid a manager’ssalary by the GRA.
His claim that he does not trust anyone at the GRA is not sitting well with the employees, especially the seniors who are demoralized. Many believe that he is making unilateral decisions without the consent of the Board and this could result in the public losing confidence in the GRA.
The government must intervene to end the chaos at the GRA. Not only is it leaderless, but revenue collection is reportedly down, morale is low among the staff and some of the Chairman’s decisions are questionable.
Many have adopted a wait and see attitude as to his next move. The GRA is at a low ebb and the fact that the Board did not find a suitable person from within the agency to fill the position of Commissioner General (CG) is disappointing.
It has been reported that the position is being re-advertised, but there are rumors that one of the individuals interviewed earlier for the job has been appointed to the position.If this is true, then the GRA will have a lot of questions to answer from the media.
Taxation is a specialized field and insiders believe that there is a senior official who is trustworthy, highly respected and exceptionally qualified to fill the top position. The person applied for the position but was not granted an interview. Many at the GRA are baffled and are in shock.
Having 33 years of experience, this individual began working at the Inland Revenue and has since worked in all the departments at the GRA, including Customs and Excise, Law Enforcement and Tax Collection.
Now in charge of strategic planning, the individual was instrumental in creating the booklet on tax policy,presently being used by the GRA, implementing the value added tax (VAT) and is in the process of completing a Ph.D.
It will be difficult for the GRA to find someone outside of the agency with the experience, skills and talent of this individual. It is very difficult for the staff to believe that there is no qualified and competent person from within the agency to fill the top position of CG.
The only time the position should be filled by someone from outside is if there is no suitable person from within the agency.
The Chairman’s remarks that he did not trust anyone at the GRA proved that he would not have appointed anyone from within the organization to the position. The saying that if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it is a duck may be true in this case.
As the premier tax collection agency in Guyana, the GRA is perhaps the most important agency for the government therefore, the position should be filled by someone who knows, understands and has years of experience in taxation. It would be a grave mistake to do otherwise.
The firings of a few will not improve revenue collection, reduce corruption, boost the self-esteem of the staffor change the work habits and culture.
Simply put, the GRA is in very poor shape. Its staff are not happy with the remarks made by the Chairman that he cannot trust them. Unless and until the government intervenes at the GRA, morale will remain low among the staff,corruption will continue andrevenue collection will not improve.
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“Simply put, the GRA is in very poor shape…”
Putting someone who insiders are suggesting will undoubtedly make workers happy, for they will continue in their comfort zone.
GRA, as most of Guyana’s institutions need new blood, a general shake up from top to bottom so we can have changes for the better and not continue with those indescribable situations that we see daily.