ECONOMY AND FINANCE
By Dadson A. Musa
Revenue generation is the life blood of every country’s economy. The revenue that a country generates through taxes, levies, duties, fines, etc is used to finance development projects and for the security of the state. The National Revenue Authority was established by an act of parliament on 13th. September 2002. The formation of the NRA put an end to the fragmentation of revenue generation bodies and was realized that more revenue was raised. The act stipulates that the NRA is headed by a Commissioner General assisted by his deputy and other Commissioners. The NRA formulates and implements tax reforms. Its core mandate is to assess and collect domestic taxes, customs, duties and other revenues specified by law as well as administering and enforcing laws relating to these revenues.
In order to stop the pervasive leakages in our revenue collection, we must abide by these binding principles; integrity, transparency, accountability, equity, discipline, collaboration and staff proficiency development. On paper, these principles sound good but is the NRA following them to the letter. Government of Sierra Leone still goes cap- in- hand begging donors to fund key development projects. And sometimes these donors help when given with conditions or strings attached that threaten our own status quo. One disturbing aspect of our revenue generation bodies which still needs correcting is physical collection of cash which makes way for pilfering and hence grand corruption. A senior citizen when asked about the huge pitfalls in revenue generation had this to say on condition of anonymity
“with our vast mineral wealth, marine resources and vast arable farm land we are supposed to be self- sufficient but that is not the case due to huge leakages in our revenue generation.” Very recently, government of Sierra Leone realized the leakages which is depriving government of much needed funds so has decided to put in place ” corrective measures” to stop the leakages. Politicizing the NRA has negative consequences on revenue generation as square pegs are put in round holes without regards to efficiency and productivity. Wanting to please political cronies instead of putting the right people in charge of revenue generation has affected this country in terms of revenue generation.
With donor funds drying up, especially when the newly elected president of the United States of America (the largest donor in the world), Donald Trump is putting a freeze or sometimes cancellations on funds his government gives as aid to poor countries in Africa and around the world. We must as a country be prudent and strict with our revenue generation to avoid the leakages that leave government strapped for cash. First thing that needs to be done is making sure businesses are not undervalued with the collusion of NRA staff. Every business must pay its fair share of taxes or dues. And compliance rates must be tracked and followed up on with due diligence. What has been found out over the years, the compliance rates have been compromised thereby making government lose billions in revenue generation while enriching unscrupulous individuals at the expense of the state.
So, it is recommended that government makes effective use of DPG (Digital Public Good) for sustainable development recommended by the UN. DPG is a system where open source, software, digital, AI models standards and contents designed for the public good. It ensures privacy and best practices which the UN recommended for one of the sustainable development goals. This system prevents pilfering and waste of revenue. In conclusion, the DPG model must be followed to make sure government revenue does not fall into the wrong hands.
Finally, motivation and proper training for workers who are tasked with collecting revenue. This is so that they do not easily fall into the temptation of being corrupt. Once this is done then we are assured of standard practice with no issue of individuals doing poor job and then taking money for themselves instead of for the country. Sierra Leone, has it all to be self- sufficient and not be dependent on donor handouts.
Copyright –Published in Expo Magazine, May-June 2025 Edition Vol.3, No.4, (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
