The appointment of Mr Kwame Owusu as the Chair of the Governing Board of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) by President Nana Akufo-Addo is way below the belt, the Member of Parliament for Yapei Kusawgu, Mr John Jinapor has said.

The former Deputy Minister of Power said Mr Owusu’s appointment weakens the confidence in the appointing authority and does not also promote good governance.

Mr Akufo-Addo recently reappointed the immediate past Director-General of the Ghana Maritime Authority, who came under intense pressure in 2018 to resign after allegedly using GHS1 million of the state agency’s funds to transform his two-bedroom official residence into a sprawling five-bedroom property with 13 air conditioners.

A letter dated 18 June 2019 signed by Nana Asante Bediatuo, the Executive Secretary to the President, said: “Pursuant to section 4 (1) (a) of the Ghana Revenue Authority Act, 2009 (Act 791), the President of the Republic, in consultation with the Council of State, has appointed you as Chairman of the Governing Board of the Ghana Revenue Authority”.

The correspondence asked Mr Owusu to confirm his acceptance of the new appointment within 14 days.

Mr Jinapor, who is not enthused with the appointment, told Class91.3FM’s Ekow Annan in an interview on Tuesday, 16 July 2019 that Mr Akufo-Addo erred in making this appointment.

“This is a man who has admitted to having spent that money. This is a man who has admitted that he budgeted for five hundred people when he had a workforce for two hundred. This is a man under investigation. When you take such a man to no less a position than the Ghana Revenue Authority, where you are encouraging all of us to pay our taxes, what President Akufo-Addo has done is below the belt. It doesn’t speak well, it doesn’t engender confidence, it does not promote the fight against corruption, and it doesn’t promote the spirit of good governance.”

He added: “As a member of the finance committee, I hold the view that this appointment is a wrong one.”