By Abdoulie Nyockeh
The chairperson of the Gambia Revenue Authority board of directors, Mrs Lucy Faye, has disclosed that the government of The Gambia has tasked the institution to collect at least D12.8 billion in the current year.
Speaking during a visit by the directors of the board and top management to GRA offices in the Greater Banjul Area recently, Chairperson Faye lauded Commissioner General Yankuba Darboe and his officers for the “fantastic job” they did to ensure the authority achieve the set revenue target despite the debilitating impact on the economy of the Covid-19 pandemic.
She said despite Covid-19, the authority surpassed its revenue collection target for 2020 and that even the IMF was left marveling at how the authority was able to record such an “excellent revenue performance”.
She further urged GRA staff to girdle their waists for the challenges ahead in the current year.
She exhorted them to “fully embrace” the slogans of “GRA Is Your GRA” and “GRA Is Our GRA” adopted during the formulation of the institution’s 2020-2024 strategic plan.
She said the staff should continue to protect the image of GRA saying: “Your work is very important in the sense that the whole economy depends on your actions and activities, therefore protecting the image of GRA should be your first priority among your agendas.”
In response, Commissioner General Darboe, said their achievement was due to the high level of commitment, cooperation and team spirit among the staff. He vowed to maintain the espirit de corps among the staff that produced the synergy for their success.
The GRA was tasked to collect D10,088,777,844 for government in 2020 but eventually collected D11,807,925,060.95. This meant the authority collected 17% above the target in the sum of D1,219,147,216.8
