Sustainable Strengthening of the Ghana Revenue Authority’s Capacity in Data Science and Governance

Background & Context

The Ghana Revenue Programme is an FCDO-funded initiative supporting Ghana to strengthen revenue policy, improve tax administration, and increase domestic revenue mobilisation. It aims to build sustainable institutional capability, support Ghana’s post-COVID recovery, and contribute to long-term economic transformation and reduced reliance on aid. 

A key focus is helping the Ghana Revenue Authority improve its use of data and analytics to drive tax compliance. To support this, GRA has established a Data Analytics Unit and plans to expand its staffing. FCDO Ghana has been asked to fund four embedded data experts to strengthen data management, improve capacity, and support more effective use of data across GRA. This is currently being done through the Public Finance Resource Center programme. 

Key Counterparts

Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) 

FCDO Ghana 

Objective  

The objective of this intervention is to support the GRA’s efforts to strengthen its capacity in data science and governance by developing and implementing good practice across the organization. 

Approach & Scope of Support

PFRC is delivering the intervention through in country technical expert support to the Ghana Revenue Authority. 

The technical assistance is focusing on the below workstreams: 

Outcomes

The intervention has moved GRA from fragmented and underutilised data systems towards a more structured, governed, and analytics-enabled environment. Early evidence shows improved use of data for revenue mobilisation, compliance analysis, and management decision-making, while sustainable institutional capabilities have been embedded within the Data Mining Unit, creating a strong platform for broader organisational adoption and long-term revenue administration reform.  

Examples of a few a few of the use cases the intervention supported DMU to take forward include: 

  1. Import/Export Compliance Analysis-Used by Customs & Compliance units to identify underpayments at ports. 
  1. Expatriate Employee Compliance-Used by Domestic Tax, High Net Worth, and Compliance units. This is one of the strongest examples of analytics directly identifying revenue leakage. 
  1. High‑Value Property & Stamp Duty Cross‑Checks-Used by Domestic Tax, Policy, and Compliance. This is a multi‑agency compliance use case combining ICUMS, Immigration, and Lands Commission data. 
  1. High Net Worth (HNW) Taxpayer Insights-Used by the HNW Unit to identify discrepancies and non‑filers.