Senior officials of the Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) recently participated in the second International Monetary Fund (IMF) -AFRITAC West 2 Regional Leadership Forum held from February 2 to 6th in Sierra Leone.
The meeting brought together revenue administration leaders from Anglophone West Africa and Cape Verde to discuss leadership and reform challenges.
The Gambian delegation included: Commissioner General Yankuba Darboe, Deputy Commissioner General and Head of Domestic Taxes Essa Jallow, and Director of Technical Services Yahya Manneh.
The forum was officially opened by Sierra Leone’s Minister of Finance, Sheku Ahmed Fantamadi Bangura, and attended by the Director of the AFRITAC West 2 Centre, as well as IMF and European Union resident representatives in Sierra Leone.
Participants discussed key issues related to strengthening tax administration and leadership, including decision-making processes, ethical leadership, Management of political interference, adaptive leadership for tax transformation, reform implementation strategies, stakeholder management, performance-based leadership and professional development.
The forum provided an opportunity for commissioners and senior management teams to exchange experiences on revenue administration reforms and regional challenges.
During the event, the GRA delivered a presentation on “Navigating Political Challenges in Reform Implementation and Revenue Administration,” highlighting its experiences with initiatives such as the implementation of ASYCUDA World, digital tax stamps for excisable goods, a revenue assurance system for mobile network operators, and a rental tax compliance system.
According to organisers, the discussions enabled participating administrations to share lessons learned and explore approaches to improving reform implementation and modernising revenue systems across the region.
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