By Haddy Touray
As part of their annual routine, the Board of the Gambia Revenue Authority GRA, headed by the Board chair lady Madam Lucy Fye- Jagne commenced a nationwide tour on Tuesday 19 December 2023.
The board comprises representatives from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, Ministry of Trade, and senior Management of the Gambia Revenue Authority headed by the Commissioner General Mr. Yankuba Darboe.
The purpose of the tour is to enable the GRA Board to meet their staff on the ground and get first-hand information, ranging from their working condition, progress achieved by various tax offices and customs posts, challenges faced by staff of various outlets in the regions and plans to overcome those challenges.
In a joint meeting at the Amadali border customs post, Mr. Lamin M. Touray, Tax Manager at Barra Tax Office, welcomed the delegation in NBR and expressed delight to see the GRA board and senior management leaving their busy schedule to come and see their working condition. He went on to highlight the number of staff, and the number of apartments, and the first floor is used as the residence of staff. He also informed the GRA board that the Barra Tax Office has 130 files, including three corporate taxpayers.
According to Mr. Touray, so far Barra Tax Office collected 98% of the target tasked by them as of the end of November 2023 i.e. D10,050,259.00) of a target of D10,432,579.00.
In conclusion, Mr. Touray also highlighted some of their working challenges, including the refurbishment of offices, the replacement of computers, and the enforcement of the tax collection on boats at Barra.
Also speaking, Yusupha Cham, Manager of Amadaliborder customs, described the visit as a big moral boost for his staff and motivation.
He went on to inform the GRA board that most of the challenges that his office faced have been addressed by the Management of GRA over the period under review but was quick to say that the issue of the replacement of their standby generator has not been finalized.
Mr. Cham further informed the Board that new challenges have also emerged, including the lack of a designated examination area for incoming cargo and parking space for incoming foreign vehicles. This, he said, was due to the increase in the volume of foreign cargo as well as an increase in the number of foreign vehicles imported through Amadali. He said cargo examination is currently done on the highway which, he stated, poses a risk to both personnel and also impedes the traffic flow.
He used the gathering to thank the Board, especially the commissioner General Yankuba Darboe for accelerating the digital transformation of customs processes.
The ASYCUDA World and the E-Tracking systems, he went on, have been implemented at Admallai with great success. He added that ASYCUDA World has brought better speed, accuracy, and reliability and made data collection and analysis easier. He stated that the E-tracking is also in full swing and has eliminated the need for human escorts and mitigated revenue risk associated with the former system.
He further informed the Board that when he transferred to Amadali border customs four years ago, there were numerous challenges in terms of vehicle smugglers but with a strong relationship with other sister security, all these challenges were addressed and thanked other security personnel for their inputs and efforts.
Mr. Cham further informed the board that Amadaliborder customs have collected D167 Million so far this year and the figure is expected to reach D200 million by the end of December 2023. He stated that this was due to the diligence, hard work, and commitment of all of his staff.
In addressing the Meeting, the Commissioner General of GRA, Yankuba Darboe, told his staff that he was first impressed with the level of cooperation between the GRA and other sister security services at the Amadali border post. He commended both managers and staff for their commitment to their revenue collection but cited that without security, revenue collection cannot take place.
“Therefore, we cherish the relationship that we found in Amadali. We are here as Senior Management and GRA board to meet you and listen to your challenges, and progress achieved and see how to help you to overcome those challenges to ensure proper revenue collection,” CG Darboe said.
For her part, the Board Chairperson, Madam Lucy Fye-Jagne, advised the GRA staff to always consider GRA as a very reputable institution and must, therefore, always protect the image of GRA.