By Omar Bah
GRA Commissioner General Yankuba Darboe has pushed back hard against fears that digitalisation will trigger mass layoffs at the country’s tax agency, ports, and border posts.
Responding to a Standard Newspaper question recently at a GRA press conference, CG Darboe said the ongoing automation of customs, domestic tax, and payment systems will not kill jobs.
“It will kill inefficiency and leakages.”
“Digitalisation is not here to send people home,” Darboe said. “It is here to send the right people to the right work.”
Under CG Darboe, GRA has accelerated several projects including ASYCUDA World at the Port of Banjul and land borders.
The customs system now captures declarations, valuations, and payments electronically while physical release notes are being phased out.
The Integrated Tax Administration System (ITAS) for domestic taxes facilitates filing, assessment, and payment of corporate tax, PAYE, and VAT moving online with real-time ledgers for each taxpayer.
The introduction of the E-payment and mobile money integration helps taxpayers to pay through banks and mobile wallets with instant receipts. Cash at GRA offices is being restricted while digital cargo tracking and e-tracking for all goods coming and going out of the country. It ensures trucks and containers are tracked from border to destination to stop diversion and under-declaration.
Each system removes a human hand from a process that was vulnerable to delay, negotiation, or bribe. That is where the fear of job losses comes from.
But Darboe’s message is that “the hand is not being cut off. It is being reassigned”.
GRA, like many public institutions, has people whose daily job is to move a file from one desk to another, retype data, or watch a gate.
According to CG Darboe, digitalisation automates that.
He added that the digitalisation move is in line with efforts to modernise operations and reduce reliance on manual processes.
“As systems become more digitalised, some tasks that were previously handled manually are now automated, requiring fewer personnel in certain areas. When you digitise a system, it means you are reducing human involvement in certain processes,” he said.
Mr Darboe added that under this approach, staff are being reassigned within the institution rather than relieved, with deployments guided by operational needs across the Authority’s departments.
“In areas where digital platforms have taken over, we move staff to other departments where their services are needed,” he stated.
According to him, the GRA operates several departments, allowing flexibility to shift personnel to sections where manpower remains essential.
“While digital systems are improving efficiency and service delivery, some areas of work still require human input, particularly where oversight and direct engagement are necessary.”
He stressed that digitalisation goes with less human intervention.
“In some cases, the system can be managed by only one or two people,” he explained.
He said the redeployment of staff forms part of a broader reform agenda aimed at strengthening tax administration, improving transparency, and ensuring more efficient revenue collection.
“We are taking steps to ensure that our workforce remains fully utilised even as operations evolve.”
The GRA has in recent years accelerated its adoption of digital platforms as part of wider efforts to enhance performance and service delivery.
CG Darboe said the transition will continue in phases, with staff movements guided by the Authority’s internal planning and operational requirements.
