By: Fatou Krubally
The Commissioner General of Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA), Yankuba Darboe, on Wednesday called on African tax administrators to strengthen leadership and institutional capacity to improve domestic revenue mobilization and drive the continent’s development.
Speaking at the opening of the 7th Heads of Tax Administrations Master Class (HTAMC) at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Centre in Kololi, Darboe said the gathering of Africa’s top revenue administrators reflected the importance of collaboration in addressing common fiscal challenges.
He described the annual master class, organized by the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF), as a key platform for South-South cooperation, peer learning and the exchange of innovative approaches to tax administration.
“At a time when Africa is increasingly looking inward for solutions to its fiscal and developmental challenges, platforms such as this Master Class have become indispensable,” Darboe said.
Drawing on his experience, the GRA chief said participation in previous editions of the forum had enabled the authority to adopt reforms inspired by successful initiatives implemented elsewhere on the continent.
He noted that several of the GRA’s digital solutions, compliance strategies and institutional reforms had emerged from discussions with fellow commissioners-general during past master classes.
Darboe stressed that the success of tax reforms depends not only on technology but also on strong leadership and political commitment.
He said securing the support of political leaders before embarking on major reforms had been a key factor in overcoming resistance to change.
“Technology can modernize systems, but leadership sustains reform,” he said, adding that the theme of this year’s forum, “Leading for Greatness: Shaping High Performance Tax Administrations”, was both timely and relevant.
According to Darboe, modern tax administrators must increasingly serve as strategists, reform champions, technology advocates, talent developers and guardians of institutional integrity.
He observed that although African tax administrations have made significant progress in digitalization and compliance reforms, leadership remains the next frontier for achieving sustainable institutional transformation.
The Commissioner General also notes that Africa continues to lag behind other regions in tax collection, citing an average tax-to-GDP ratio of about 16.1 percent compared with 19.6 percent in the Asia-Pacific region, 21.3 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean, and nearly 34 percent among OECD countries.
He said the figures underscored the continent’s untapped revenue potential and called for continued efforts to broaden the tax base, improve taxpayer services, strengthen voluntary compliance, leverage digital technologies and combat illicit financial flows.
“If we succeed in these areas, we will not only improve revenue collection. We will strengthen state institutions, improve governance and create the fiscal space necessary to invest in our people,” Darboe said.
The Tax Administrations Master Class brings together commissioners-general and senior tax officials from across Africa to exchange experiences and discuss strategies for improving tax administration and domestic resource mobilization.