Kwesi Pratt Jnr., the Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, has disagreed with those criticizing the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

The GRA Workers' Union criticized Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, for his comments on revenue mobilization methods used by the Authority.

Harassing businesses

Dr. Bawumia during a meeting with the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, voiced concerns about the alleged use of aggression and harassment during tax collection by GRA staff.

“They are harassing businesses. That harassment is coming from the sort of targets that are created at their office. They are setting unrealistic targets. And this is because the tax base is so narrow; you say to them, 'this is your target for this month', and they are trying to figure out where do I go.”

“Then for them, it is very easy; you go back to where you had it the last time. You go to taxpayers, the people who are already paying taxes and then you have to come up with a new reason why they should pay more and so you come up with all sorts of stuff," he said.

Bawumia's statement unfortunate

In response to this, the Organized Labour, in a statement dated Friday, March 22, 2024, described Dr Bawumia’s comments as “unfortunate”, viewing them as a slight against the diligent efforts of GRA employees.

“We would like to state unequivocally that we, the workers of GRA, find this statement unfortunate and consider it as an attack on the efforts of the hard-working staff of the Authority, which, if not discontinued, would incur the displeasure of workers, disrupt revenue collection efforts, and breed industrial disharmony.”

However, communicators of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) have condemned the statement, insisting Bawumia said nothing wrong.

Kwesi Pratt's defense

Kwesi Pratt, speaking to this on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo', said the workers were only expressing their disagreement with the Vice President, which is allowed under the law.

"Under this democratic dispensation, everybody has the freedom to speak their mind, and so I see nothing wrong with what they said. Should they have kept quiet for them to be wrongly accused?" he questioned.

Listen to him in the video below