By Isatou Jallow
Commissioner General of the Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA), Yankuba Darboe has extolled the Gambian parliamentarians through the office of the speaker for accepting their invitation and being trained on the role of the Parliamentarians in domestic revenue mobilization.
This acceptance the Commissioner General has described as a step in the right direction and is a clear indication of the cordial relationship between the two institutions.
He went further to describe the roles of the NAMS as critical in national development as lawmakers. He, therefore, applauded them for their high sense of commitment and participation during the two days of training.
Alongside, he commended the media for always complimenting GRA’s efforts to educate and create public awareness on revenue mobilization.
“We at the level of GRA cherish your contribution and partnership while assuring the media that the sky is the limit for our future Partnership,” he praised the media for their pivotal role in portraying a positive image of GRA.
He, therefore, urged Gambians to take a new paradigm shift in terms of giving more attention to local domestic revenue mobilization than international trade. He cited that for the past decades Gambia has been relying on external donors’ loans and grants but now donors are tired and fed up with what it calls done facets.
He emphasised that Gambia is a tax base economy and GRA collects 60% of its revenue on domestic revenue, while 40% on international Trade. He also highlighted many obstacles associated with international trade within the corridor of the West African Region. He further disclosed that there are many treaties and memorandum of agreement signed but one of the main challenges is implementation.
He explained that sometimes the leadership is always willing to sign and want things to be implemented rightfully but officials on the ground are the main problem in enforcing the treaties due to their self-interest by introducing certain unwarranted tariffs.
He, therefore, urged Gambians to intensively cooperate with the Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA), an agent mandated by an act of parliament to collect revenue for national development to ensure that government collects the much-needed revenue.
He went on to disclose that this year, the government through the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs tasked GRA to collect (13.5Billon) as the annual revenue target for 2022. He also stated that despite the numerous challenges of Coronavirus, the Russia –Ukraine long war, as well heavy expenditures on fuel subsidies, GRA is confident and optimistic about achieving the annual revenue target for 2022.
For his part, the Executive Secretary of WATAF also commended the leadership of GRA for accepting UN-WATAF to organize this training in the Gambia. He described this as the right footing and is just the beginning of their relationship.
He also assured them of more training and also more training will be provided for Gambians to improve domestic revenue mobilization.
In conclusion, he commended and described Commissioner General Yankuba Darboe as an asset that is not only for the Gambia but the sub-region, “this is why he is re-elected as WATAF chairman for the next two years.”