BY Issah Olegor
The worsening cash crunch confronting the National Democratic Congress government has pushed Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson into an unusually aggressive revenue mobilisation campaign, forcing him to personally storm offices of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and engage businesses to pay their taxes, at a time the Commissioner General of the foremost revenue agency, Anthony Kwasi Sarpong, is out of the country in Malaysia.
The Finance Minister’s actions come amid growing concern within government that the GRA is missing its revenue targets, deepening the state’s liquidity crisis and crippling the ability of ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to function. Some ministries have received less than 30% of their disbursements for the year making it impossible to implement projects apart from paying salaries.
With external inflows limited and strict fiscal controls under the IMF programme, the government has become heavily dependent on internally generated funds to pay salaries and keep essential services running.
Last week, Ato Forson began a series of unannounced working visits to tax offices across Accra, including the Osu, Tudu, Tema and Legon Taxpayer Service Centres.
On Monday, December 8, 2025, he led top GRA management to the Osu Taxpayer Service Centre, where he openly challenged staff to “buckle up” and improve revenue performance, warning that the country’s finances were under severe strain.
Speaking to tax officials, the Finance Minister stressed that revenue mobilisation could no longer be passive and business as usual must be a thing of the past.
He urged officers to leave their desks, engage taxpayers directly, enforce compliance, and widen the tax net.
“Revenue must not depend on waiting for taxpayers to walk into our offices,” he told staff, charging them to take full ownership of their targets.
To motivate officers, Dr. Forson promised to approve bonuses for staff who meet or exceed their revenue goals.
The Finance Minister has also been visiting companies and large taxpayers, personally pleading with them to honour their tax obligations.
Sources say these engagements are driven by the government’s inability to release funds into the system, leaving the Finance Ministry with little option but to step out to canvass for tax revenues to finance day-to-day government operations.
What has heightened public debate is the absence of the GRA Commissioner General, Anthony Kwasi Sarpong during this critical period.
Sarpong, who is statutorily responsible for leading revenue mobilisation efforts, is currently in Malaysia with stopover in Dubai.
Unconfirmed reports suggest the Finance Minister attempted to discourage the trip due to the worsening revenue situation, but the Commissioner General proceeded nonetheless, leaving Ato Forson to lead the charge alongside the newly appointed acting Commissioner for Domestic Tax and Revenue, Dr Martin Kolbil Yamborigya.
The new appointee is facing challenges in his new post since he was allegedly skipped over his seniors and his appointment is seen as promoting the northern hegemony in the financial sector.
The revenue shortfall is already having serious consequences.
Government sources confirm that most MDAs have not received significant budgetary releases for the 2025 fiscal year.
Aside from statutory payments to the District Assemblies Common Fund and the National Health Insurance Fund, many ministries are struggling to pay contractors, procure basic logistics, fuel vehicles, or sustain ongoing projects.
Even ministers’ salaries and operational allocations have reportedly been locked up for months, forcing some appointees to rely on personal support or internally generated funds instead of payment from Controller and Accountant General Office.
This deepening financial freeze is the result of sweeping spending controls imposed by the Finance Minister since assuming office.
All payments and contracts reportedly require his personal approval, a measure intended to enforce discipline and prevent leakages, but which has also slowed government business to a near standstill.
Officials within the Finance Ministry argue that releasing cash into the system could weaken the cedi by fueling demand for foreign exchange, undoing recent gains in currency stability.
As part of efforts to shore up revenue, Dr. Forson has rolled out a mix of enforcement and reform measures.
On December 10, 2025, after meeting officials of the Large Taxpayer Office at VAT House in Accra, he announced plans to introduce a National Value Added Tax (VAT) Reward Scheme in 2026.
Under the scheme, VAT receipts from compliant taxpayers will be entered into national draws, encouraging consumers to demand receipts and helping to reduce leakages in the VAT chain.
The Finance Minister also announced plans to deploy fiscal electronic devices and redesign the VAT system to improve compliance, transparency, and data accuracy.
These reforms follow Parliament’s passage of the Value Added Tax Bill, 2025, on November 26, which abolished the COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy and reduced the effective VAT rate from 21.9 per cent to 20 per cent.
Meanwhile, enforcement has intensified across the tax administration.
The GRA has stepped up compliance exercises, including unannounced visits by enforcement task forces to company premises to verify tax records and ensure adherence to tax laws—moves that underscore the pressure on the Authority to deliver results.
Despite falling inflation, the reality on the ground remains harsh, with prices of goods and services staying high and cash scarce across the economy.
With government accounts under stress and revenue performing below expectations, Dr. Forson’s visible presence at GRA offices and corporate boardrooms reflects an administration in urgent search of cash, while the head of the revenue authority remains abroad, raising uncomfortable questions about leadership, priorities, and the state of the public finances.
