<<Print>>Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia has scheduled a meeting with the Director General of the Ghana Revenue Authority, George Blankson, who has applied to proceed on leave as he quits the job, deep-throat sources have told 3News.
Mr Blankson who was appointed by the late president John Mills in 2010 for a four-year tenure, had his appointment renewed by former president John Mahama in 2014.
His tenure was said to have ended in August 2016. Sources within the Authority told 3News Tuesday that Mr Blankson on February 13, 2017 wrote to the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Attah, requesting to begin his accumulated leave prior to his retirement.
Although the Finance Minister has granted his leave request in a response letter dated February 14, 2017, 3News sources say the Dr Bawumia who returned from Dubai Tuesday is likely to impress upon Mr Blankson to rescind his decision to quit.
Wednesday’s meeting is set to take place at the Flagstaff House, the seat of government. One Kofi Nti who worked with the Finance Ministry as a tax policy advisor is set to take over from Mr Blankson in an acting capacity, the sources revealed.
Blankson’s background
The tax reform consultant/tax administrator and economist was the first Director General of the GRA following the promulgation of the law merging all the three revenue agencies into one as the Ghana Revenue Authority. He has specialization in revenue modernization, VAT administration, design and implementation of tax procedures as well as economic analysis and revenue forecasting.
Until his appointment as the Commissioner-General, Mr. Blankson worked for Crown Agents as a Lead consultant/ Manager to the DFID support to the National Revenue Authority (NRA) project, Sierra Leone. His responsibilities at the NRA Sierra Leone involved advising the Commissioner-General on all the operational business areas covered by the project. He was the lead advisor on all aspects of design and implementation of Value Added Tax (VAT), as well as working with other consultants to develop and implement a Revenue Authority modernisation programme.