Accra, Aug. 24, GNA – Rev. Dr Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, the Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), has been named an outstanding public sector leader for the second time.
He was honoured with 14 other top managers of public institutions in the country at the 7th Ghana CEOs Excellence Awards in Accra.
He first picked the Award during the 5th edition.
Rev. Dr Owusu-Amoah received the Outstanding Public Leadership Award, which noted the progress of reforms and growth of the GRA under his leadership
The award is also in recognition of the bold initiatives he introduced at the GRA, which have resulted in the achievement of milestones, including meeting revenue targets.
His leadership has seen tax revenue collections making significant contributions to infrastructure development and improvement of government services.
Organised by the CEOs Network, the Ghana CEOs Excellence Awards is a high-impact business leadership event held annually. The 2023 edition attracted more than 300 topmost CEOs.
Over the years, the awards have become the preferred business conference for decision-makers, CEOs, entrepreneurs, business leaders and board members, among others who are committed to unlocking Ghana’s economic potential by offering concrete, innovative and actionable solutions.
At the end of the summit which includes panel discussions, leaders who are considered champions of public sector and private sector-led growth, leading discussions around innovative public policies and best growth-oriented business practices to help the country move forward and build resilient companies and institutions are honoured.
In an address after the award, Rev. Dr Owusu-Amoah credited the achievement to the cooperation and hard work of the management and staff of the GRA.
He said good foresight, teamwork and strategic objectives were behind the revolution of the operations of the Authority through effective Information Communication Technology (ICT) solutions.
He cited some innovations introduced by the Authority, including the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS); filing of returns electronically via the taxpayers’ portal which is linked to the Ghana.gov platform, and can be accessed online via the GRA website;
introduction of the cashless policy and taxing the High-Net-Worth individuals, which commenced in earnest in 2020.
Other initiatives are: Restructuring the Domestic Tax Revenue Division (DTRD) into Area Offices and Taxpayer Service Centres; Commencement in the use of Ghana Card Personal Identification Number as the Tax Identification Number (TIN) for individuals; Introduction of New Excise Tax Stamps; Rigorous efforts to tax players in the e-commerce industry; Embarking on intensive debt collection drives and prosecution of tax defaulters; and Increased Tax Education.
Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah joined the GRA in 2018 after a glowing 30-year career in the banking sector in Research, Corporate banking, SME/Retail Banking, Strategic Leadership and Strategic Planning in different Countries in Africa and short-term assignments in several Countries.
He has vast experience in leadership, management, and banking operations as he started his career in the public service with the Ghana Statistical Service as an Assistant Statistician with the Ghana Statistical Service engaged in Economic, Social and Statistical Research before joining Standard Chartered Bank, as a Statistician and Research Officer in 1993.
For his exceptional performance in the Bank, he gained rapid promotions over nine years into various Senior positions including Financial Business Support Manager with responsibility for managing the budgeting and planning function of the Bank; Head of Credit Services for Standard Chartered Bank West Africa and Head of Operations and Technology for Standard Chartered Bank Ghana where he became a member of the Executive Committee of the Bank.
He was appointed Group Head of Operations for Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) based in Togo where he supervised the operations functions over all the countries of the Ecobank Group. He was very instrumental in setting up from scratch the Ecobank Operations and Technology hub in Ghana known as eProcess International.
He joined UniBank Ghana Ltd in 2007 where he became the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. He left UniBank in 2011 and joined Bank of Africa Group as Managing Director and CEO of Bank of Africa, Tanzania for seven years until he was appointed as Group Executive for Special Projects, including Mergers and Acquisitions, strategic collaborations and alliances for the Bank of Africa Group and other international banks.
Rev. Dr.Owusu-Amoah, has been a major speaker at conferences and seminars for several International Organizations and Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Belgium Investment Organization (BIO).
Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai has served on several boards and has contributed significantly to development of the Finance Industry. He was the Chairman of the Board of the Tanzania Mortgage Re-Finance Company, Chairman of the Board of Umoja Switch Tanzania Limited, Member of the Governing Council of the Tanzania Bankers Association and Chairman of the Credit Sub Committee of the Governing Council of the Tanzania Bankers Association. He also served as Chairman of the Board of uniSecurities Ghana Limited, and Vice Chairman of the Board of Akuapem Rural Bank Limited.
He is currently a member of the Board of the National Identification Authority, A member of the Board of GCNet Ghana Limited, and a member of the Board of the Minerals Income Investment Fund.
GNA