All revenue collection agencies are to be integrated as soon as a bill to that effect is passed in Parliament, Mr Samuel Sallas-Mensah, the Executive Secretary of the Revenue Agencies Governing Board, said on Thursday.

He said this would help streamline revenue collection and make it easier to evaluate and quantify the revenue. Mr Salas-Mensah was speaking when he toured some facilities of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) in Accra. He said he admired the level of hard work and dedication of CEPS personnel amidst very difficult working conditions at the KIA. Mr Sallas-Mensah said he had noticed that the collection points at the KIA lacked adequate logistics and equipment, adding that government would ensure that they were well equipped to perform their duties comfortably and effectively.

Mr John Kennedy Ocloo, Commander of the CEPS KIA Collection point, said the diligence and hard work of personnel had always led to the KIA Collection point performing above expectation. He said total revenue collected from January to May, 2009, exceeded the target by six pr cent at GH¢70,734,741.85 as against a target of GH¢66,306,000.00.

The commander said this year KIA CEPS intercepted one million US dollars illegally being exported and 39,000 US dollars being illegally imported.

He said on May 26, 132 slabs of Indian hemp weighing 278 kilogrammes were jointly intercepted by CEPS and Narcotics Control Board officials at KIA. CEPS officials also seized 357 slabs of Indian hemp weighing 493 kilogrammes at the KIA. He appealed to the new Executive Secretary for the provision of equipment and logistics such as scanners and other means of detecting illegal items, saying that would make the sector a lot more productive. Mr Sallas-Mensah's visit formed part of his tour of revenue collection agencies in the country.