50 Years Forward – NRA Moving Forward

Concord Times (Freetown)

Abraham Karl Samura

22 June 2011

opinion

Freetown — The much awaited fifty years celebrations have come and gone amidst the many deliberations and postulations on the way forward. Everybody seems to have played a part to mark this epoch making event. Musicians banged the airwaves with all sorts of nationalistic vibes and rhythms, cultural groups showcased the cultural heritage of the country and of course Freetown being the capital of Sierra Leone was adorned with the national colours in a way it has never been done before. The pages of local tabloids were more or less full of congratulatory messages from diplomatic missions and business institutions and groups as well. The digital advertising industry could not go unnoticed by the array of banners and backdrops that permeated the frontages of offices all over the city inscribed with colorful messages of all sort. Of course, prominent in all these also, was the theme chosen for the celebrations tagged “50 Years forward: celebrating a new Sierra Leone”.

Fifty years forward implies that Sierra Leone should as an independent sovereign nation rethink the future. It means that as a country, more than ever before, it should seriously take responsibility of it socio political and economic development agenda; that is, a shift from overdependence on donor funding to a reasonable dependence on locally generated revenue. At the fore front of this domestic dependence is the National Revenue Authority, a corporate statutory institution that was set up by government in 2002. By implication, the NRA is the vanguard instrument that should be the driving force behind the country’s development aspirations.

True to its mandate, the NRA has been pursuing its objectives via its various departments consistent with its strategic objectives and programmes. For instance, the Domestic Tax Department (DTD), one of the products of a five-year modernization programme, is merger of the Income Tax Department, the GST Unit and the soon to-be-incorporated Non Tax Revenue Department. The process is ongoing, yet big things are happening. There is currently a change management programme, putting the NRA’s operations, processes and procedures in line with other comparable institutions. The Customs and Excise Department, which accounts for a significant annual input in the revenue turnover year in year out since the establishment of the NRA, has also been through and is still going through a process of restructuring and modernization. The ASSYCUDA++ automated system of customs clearance is the latest technological change this department has seen. Annually, the NRA works

strategically towards set revenue targets as agreed between the government of Sierra Leone and the World Bank. The onus is on the NRA to ensure such targets are met or if possible exceeded. To this end, one is compelled to spin the revenue ball in the past two years to assess the institution’s output with regards its successes thus far. As indicated previously, the NRA works in line with set targets which, as the case should be, serve as lamp posts to direct its revenue drives. Taking a look at turnovers therefore leaves the reader with the discretion to accede to the fact that it has been so far so good or so far so poor.

In the year 2009, the total annual revenue turnover was seven hundred billion, three hundred and twenty nine million Leones (Le700.329 billion) against an actual programme target of six hundred and sixty eight billion, three hundred and forty three million Leones (Le668.34 billion). This implies domestic revenue target for the NRA was met by a solid margin surplus of thirty one billion nine hundred million Leones (Le31.9 billion) or four point three percent (4.3%). For the year 2010, the total annual revenue turnover was nine hundred and fifty five billion six hundred and sixty two million Leones (Le955.662 billion). Given the actual revenue collection target for 2010 was set at nine hundred and thirty billion four hundred and ninety million Leones (Le930.43 billion), this implies that there was a surplus in excess of twenty five billion two hundred (Le25.2 billion). Similarly, the first quarter (Q1) of 2011 also saw an optimal increase of twenty

billion three hundred and eighty nine million Leones (Le20.389 billion) over its programme target of two hundred and seventy five billion two hundred and thirty three million Leones (Le275.233 billion), giving a total revenue performance of two hundred and ninety five billion six hundred and twenty two million Leones (Le295.622 billion). Revenue performance for the second quarter (Q2) also seems promising. There seems to be a steady increase in digits in revenue turnover which means that nominally, the NRA is doing well and is on the success path while the potential still exists for it to perform better. Thus the relentless effort by management to implement all best practice procedures so as to fully realize the need to raise more revenue locally for our national development aspirations.

To explore this potential, the NRA is currently looking inwardly in terms of going through some rational restructuring in order to enhance improved staff capacity and a viable working environment for optimum staff performance. Indeed, it is only when staff members are well positioned and motivated that the best is expected to come out of them. The current acting Commissioner General in the wisdom of effective administration is well motivated to deliver and is currently on a drive of stimulating staff morale thus convening meetings which rarely occur in the administration of previous Commissioner Generals to address salient issues pertinent to the success of the National Revenue Authority. Indeed the NRA faces many challenges and it takes the steam of additional vigour to adequately deal with them. One of these many challenges is the tendency for tax payers to deliberately dodge their tax compliance responsibilities. This is a thorny issue and though

peculiar, is also a general phenomenon everywhere. It is thus important that the NRA re-stimulate its tax education drive with a specific emphasis on liabilities for non-compliance to payment obligations to the authority.

Another challenge is the porosity of border areas. The country still has the enormous task of patrolling many border areas that are up to this time unpatrolled thus serving as safe havens to smugglers. The NRA should therefore be keen to redouble efforts to boost the anti-smuggling patrol teams to enable them adequately carry out their functions. Of importance also is the challenge of introducing the ASSYCUDA ++ system in other areas such as the Lungi Airport, Gbalamuya border customs post in the North and possibly Gendema in the East. This will enhance ease in passing through customs by significantly cutting down the time in manually assessing goods.

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