MINISTER OF STATE FOR PUBLIC SECTOR REFORMS PAYS WORKING VISIT TO SSNIT AND GRA
In the quest to deepen collaboration and build strong relationship with public institutions, the Public Sector Reform Secretariat (PSRS) led by Hon. Lydia Lamisi Akanvariba, Member of Parliament (MP) for Tempane Constituency and Minister of State in charge of Public Sector Reforms paid a working visit to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) at their head offices in Accra on Wednesday, 29th October, 2025.
The main purpose for the working visit to SSNIT and GRA was to familiarize with the institutions, understand ongoing initiatives and to identify opportunities for cooperation and support between PSRS and the key public institutions visited. This would also help strengthen collaborative efforts towards a more responsive and efficient public service.
At SSNIT, the officials from PSRS met with Mr. Kwesi Afreh Biney, the Director-General and some of his management staff, Mr. Adam Sulley, Deputy Director-General in charge of Operations and Benefits; Ms. Patience Akua Owusu, General Manager, Investment and Development; Mrs. Evelyn Adjei, Acting Chief Actuary; Mr. Jaezi Orleans Lindsay, General Manager, General Counsel; Mrs. Mabel Ofori, Acting General Manager, Admin. and Human Resources; and Mrs. Victoria Abaidoo, Corporate Affairs Manager.
In her opening statement, Hon. Lydia Lamisi Akanvariba (MP), indicated that her office has been engaging public institutions to learn about what they do and identify reform areas being implemented by the institutions. She added that since assumption of office, the PSRS has been meeting key stakeholders to finalize a draft National Public Sector Reform Strategy (NPSRS) 2025 – 2029.
According to the Minister of State, the NPSRS when finalized and launched by His Excellency the President, will seek to introduce key reform initiatives in public sector institutions and it is anchored on seven pillars, identified reform programmes and activities that will improve the delivery of services to citizens and the private sector. Other activities the PSRS undertakes include coordinating the implementation of a comprehensive gender strategy for the Public Sector (2024 – 2028), coordinating the implementation of a One-Stop-Shop and coordinating the implementation of Ghana’s Open Government Partnership initiative.
Mr. Afreh Biney, on his part warmly welcomed the Minister to SSNIT. He briefly acknowledged the gender balance being practiced at all meetings and engagements. The Director-General said, “SSNIT is the mandatory institution responsible for the management of tier 1 and their core goal is to provide income security to workers - thus Ghanaian and foreign workers. But some foreign workers are exempt from this policy”.
SSNIT according to the Director-General has been initiating some reforms which include reviewing the IT infrastructure by upgrading all digital channels to make it easier or convenient for its clients to access their services. Through this, they have initiated a 54th branch which was mainly a virtual branch to communicate easily and timely with their clients. Again, he indicated that SSNIT is currently working to operate a co-location initiative where they are liaising with banks across the districts in Ghana to provide easy access to services they provide to workers and pensioners. This will reduce the cost of doing business and improve the services to their customers.
Another essential plan SSNIT wants to introduce is the tele-health initiative which is being done in collaboration with the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) where the 2% that goes to NHIA fund is properly utilized for the benefit of workers who do not have access to clinics or hospitals. In this regard, the tele-health will provide a virtual platform for workers to seek health care services with experts through the tele-health approach.
The Minister of State, as a closing remarks suggested that SSNIT should improve their publicity on the various reforms being implemented and address the concerns of workers in the rural areas where banks are not located for them to access the services on all pension related matters.
The team from PSRS later visited the GRA head office where they met Mr. Anthony Kwasi Sarpong, the Commissioner-General and some of his management team, Mr. Edward Apenteng Gyamerah, Commissioner, Domestic Tax and Revenue Division; Hon. Dr. Alex Adomako Mensah, Commissioner Support Services Division; among other senior officials.
The Minister gave a brief remark on the essence of the visit which was in line with the familiarization engagement with some public sector institutions. The visit was to learn about GRA’s operations and to understand the reforms being implemented. In response, the Commissioner-General was elated to receive the Minister of State at his office as very unique and commendable.
Mr. Sarpong intimated that GRA since the new reset agenda has identified some strategies mainly to improve the revenue mobilization in the country. Notable among these strategies are the people and culture centred-approach where regular training and development will serve as the driving force; strong revenue mobilization by increasing the collection of revenue by 2028 using policy reforms on Value Added Tax (VAT) among other initiatives; introducing the digital economy by piloting technology and online platforms as well as using Artificial Intelligence tools to support tax classification to complement the tax collection system.
Again, GRA was equally providing an advanced cargo information centre and improving the data collection system and processes as part of the reset strategies. The Commissioner-General was quick to add that GRA was the first to adopt and implemented the 24-hour economy before the President launched it.
At the end of the working visit, the Minister of State was appreciative of GRA sharing their strategies with the team. She encouraged them to keep up their good works of improving the revenue base of our country and also promised that her office will have further engagements with GRA on the finalization of the NPSRS, 2025–2029 document.
The Minister was accompanied by Mrs. Thelma Ohene-Asiamah, Director, General Administration Directorate; Mr. Joseph Abbey, Director, Policy Planning Budgeting, Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate; Mrs Veronica Osei, Director, Human Resource Management Directorate; and some officers at the PSRS.