THE Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has dismissed two managers for poor performance, Board Chairman Rawle Lucas has said.Speaking with reporters on Monday, Lucas disclosed that the services of Head of the Human Resources Management Division, Archana Joshi, and Head of Customs, Jameel Baksh, were recently terminated following an in-depth review of GRA operations.

The GRA Board Chairman said the Board was dissatisfied with the rate of revenue collection and the poor conditions under which staff members have been forced to work, hence the decision to relieve Joshi and Baksh of their duties.

A decision was also made on Monday to appoint Hema Khan as Deputy Commissioner General. At the time of her appointment, Khan was serving as the Deputy Commissioner for Tax Operations and Services. The office of the Commissioner General still remains vacant. While interviews have been conducted, the candidates are still being evaluated.

“While we are in the process of completing the selection of a Commissioner General, the organisation has gone ahead with some changes in critical areas,” Lucas told reporters while explaining that the Head of the Law Enforcement and Investigative Division, Karen Chapman, will now oversee GRA’s transition programme.

“The functional structure leaves large amounts of revenue uncollected and vast communities of taxpayers underserved. It also leaves the staff demoralized, and this situation the board intends to change,” Lucas posited.

Through the transition programme, Chapman is expected to address many of the inefficiencies within the system.
“The new transitional programme will focus on our regional approach to revenue collection; it will focus on taxpayers’ needs, ease of doing business, and creating more acceptable working conditions for the staff,” Lucas explained.

Fitzroy Corlette, who has been functioning as the Head of Projects, will now head the Law Enforcement and Investigative Division; while international attorney Lancelot Wills will now take over the Customs portfolio.