A pull-out ceremony has been held in honour of Assistant Commissioner Christiana Odi-Adjei, the Sector Commander of the Tema Collection, Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
Assistant Commissioner Odi-Adjei, the first woman to head the sector, was celebrated for her numerous achievements, including exceeding revenue targets and implementing significant infrastructural improvements.
During her tenure, she oversaw among other things the completion of a conference room makeover, replacement of rails alongside two staircases in the long room, and the formation of a green channel team to curb abuses.
Speaking at the ceremony in Accra on Friday January 25, Brigadier General Zibrim Bawah Ayorrogo, the Commissioner of the Customs Division, praised Odi-Adjei for her professionalism, innovation, and excellent service, noting that her legacy would continue to inspire others.
Assistant Commissioner Theresa Potakey has been appointed as Odi-Adjei’s successor and assured that she would continue to build on the achievements made under Odi-Adjei’s leadership.
The ceremony was attended by various dignitaries and colleagues who paid tribute to Odi-Adjei’s contributions to the Customs Division and her role in promoting efficient revenue collection.
Profile/Achievements
Assistant Commissioner, Christiana Odi Adjei, took over the Tema Sector Command position on 6th January, 2023, as the 26th Sector Commander for the Collection and the first female to command this high office. She had her O and A level education at the Wesley Girls High School, Cape Coast, from 1979 to 1985. Then she continued to the University of Ghana where she pursued a Bachelor of Science degree.
Asst. Comm. Adjei also acquired an MBA from the University of Ghana, and a Masters in Ports and Shipping from the Regional Maritime University. She joined the Service in 1992 at the rank of Revenue Assistant Grade III, and by dint of hard work and dedication to duty, she rose through the ranks to this current grade.
Madam Christi, as she is affectionately called, took over the administration of Tema Collection at the time gradually recovering from the devastating effect of the global pandemic, the Covid 19. The economic gains that Ghana recorded within the last decade were virtually eroded by this pandemic. As a result, government needed to mobilise adequate tax revenue to offset the huge budget deficits that were occasioned by this pandemic. In this regard, the revenue target for Tema Collection for the year 2023 was increased by 43% from the target that was given the previous year.
As part of her strategies to surmount this daunting task, she organised regular stakeholder meetings to review their concerns and also iron out bottlenecks within the clearance process at the port to shore up revenue. She further enhanced stakeholder collaboration and client service by providing a hotline number for Tema Collection, where stakeholders and clients registered their complains on the clearance process, so that they could be addressed expeditiously.
To compliment the above strategy, she instituted an awards scheme to reward hard working Officers who contributed immensely to revenue mobilisation. After achieving and exceeding the revenue target for the year 2023 by 8.85%, she organised the first awards parade to recognise and reward hardworking Officers/ Contract Staff.
In the ensuing year, this award scheme acted as a stimulant for effective revenue mobilisation and despite the fact that the revenue target for the year 2024 was increased by 51.78%, the collection once again achieved and exceeded the revenue target by 8.64%.
During her two years tenure of office, tax revenue collection recorded a year-on- year growth rate of 40.89% and 51.49% for the year 2023 and 2024 respectively.
In addition to her success in revenue mobilisation, she also refurnished Alhadji Awudu’s Conference Room to an ultra-modern conference room to host staff, stakeholders and international trade partners for meetings and debriefing sessions.
At this point, it must be noted that her natural resilience and commitment to duty, enabled her to administer Tema Collection successfully. In fact, she leaves behind an enviable legacy which encourages and challenges us to do better.
