By Maimuna Sey-Jawo &
At least 36 students and four staff of the Media Academy for Journalism and Communication (MAJaC) have been trained on tax administration matters.
The one-day training was sponsored by The Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) and was held in Senegambia.
The training was meant to raise awareness of the journalist students to have better understanding on tax issues and revenue laws administered by the GRA as well as play a crucial role in accuracy reporting on taxation matters and also in advocating improving compliance.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Yankuba Darboe, Commissioner General of GRA, said the role of the media and the media academy in tax administration cannot be overemphasis saying ” media practitioners play an important role in our taxpayers’ education programmes and this is key in promoting voluntary compliance.’’
Discussion, according to him, was centered on issues of revenue collection processes, procedures and other tax administration matter with reference to the revenue laws, taxpayer compliance obligations and rights in the payment of domestic revenue.
He informed the participants of the importance of the seminar which has availed them opportunity to express their concerns in any engagements with the authority, as feedbacks on the services rendered by GRA, will be taken with utmost seriousness for further service improvements onward.
The GRA CG stated that the GRA has also engaged other key stakeholders such as the lawmakers, regional authorities, the chamber of commerce, tertiary education institutes, the media fraternity, clearing and forwarding agents and so on: “This was done in series of programs to deepen their understanding of the revenue laws and other administration issues in the past.”
Essa Jallow, the Deputy Commissioner General of GRA said the tax seminar activities was part of GRA’s strategic goal on stakeholders engagement, as it is important to educate and sensitize the population, so they can become aware of the tax laws, processes and procedures for meeting their tax obligations both domestic taxes and customs.
“We know that we cannot achieve this goal without working with you closely. On a daily basis, you are always engage in sensitizing and educating the population on economic, social and political issues which is a sine qua non for achieving increased citizens participation in state matters, holding governments accountable, increasing the democratic space which ultimate leads to good governance, socio-economic development and political maturity,’’ he remarked.
He added: “Engaging you in this manner will undoubtedly bridge the information gap between GRA and the journalism community which will reduce the extent of misinformation and inaccurate reporting some of which will have a negative impact on the GRA’s revenue mobilization efforts and capacity.”
“We are not saying that positive criticisms are bad. We just don’t want to see an environment where only sensational journalism becomes the order of the day when there are others very important and high value information which should be obtained and disseminated,” he divulged.
Sang Mendy, Managing Director of MAJaC, said: “Tax is everyone’s business. We all pay tax in one way or the other. Journalists should play a vital role in enlightening the public on their roles and responsibilities and tax is one of those responsibilities.’’
“When journalists are grounded with the requisite knowledge and skills in tax-related matters, they effectively inform the public on what should be done. As would be employees due to pay tax through employers, and as would be entrepreneurs hoping to own media platforms in future, it is important to know about tax and its related matters,’’ he added.
He said training of this nature on special areas would give his students a competitive edge when they graduate and become reporters. In sports, he added ‘we call it catch them young.’
For her part, Madam Lucy Faye Jagne, GRA’s Board Chairperson and CEO Fyen Consulting Service made a comprehensive statement on GRA’s activities while saying MAJaC also can play a critical role in accurate reporting on taxation matters, advocates for compliance and interaction with the public as well as business community.