By Omar Bah
The Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) Commissioner General Yankuba Darboe has announced a bold vision to establish The Gambia as a digital taxation hub for West Africa—a transformation rooted in his leadership, strategic reforms, and an unwavering commitment to modernisation.
CG Darboe, with more than 30 years of experience in customs and revenue administration, has guided the GRA through sweeping technological reforms.
Under his stewardship, the authority has adopted advanced digital systems and made operational efficiency and transparency its hallmark.
Addressing a team of senior customs officials from Sierra Leone who are in Banjul on a benchmarking exercise yesterday, Darboe said his vision for the GRA is not only national in scope but deliberately regional envisaged to position The Gambia as a catalyst for digital tax administration excellence across West Africa. He argued that tax administrators cannot anymore afford to operate manually.
“Digitalisation is a must now,” he added.
Under Darboe’s leadership, the GRA has rolled out groundbreaking systems such as ASYCUDA World and the National Single Window, which have streamlined customs, improved compliance, and significantly curtailed the leakage of government revenue.
“These platforms serve as a blueprint for African peers, and several tax authorities have conducted study tours to GRA to learn from its digital progress,” CG Darboe said.
During his time as Chairperson of the West African Tax Administration Forum (WATAF), CG Darboe prioritised digital transformation for revenue authorities across the region.
The GRA’s reforms have made it a model for digital tax administration, and Darboe leverages this position to advocate for regional cooperation, knowledge sharing, and capacity building. Benchmarking trips to digital leaders—such as Zambia’s highly automated tax administration served as part of GRA’s learning approach, enabling the Authority to adopt and localise best practices. Since CG Darboe’s reforms, annual collections have soared, reaching D19.2 billion in 2024—an achievement directly attributed to the embrace of digital systems, improved compliance, and operational integrity.
Automated processes have drastically reduced corruption, addressed taxpayer concerns, and elevated confidence in the tax administration system.
GRA’s digital journey is showcased across Africa as an exemplary case, and its technological solutions are increasingly sought after by other tax jurisdictions.
“There is no turning back on digitalisation. It is the only way forward to meet the revenue needs of our governments and to ensure sustainable development for our nations,” CG Darboe said.
He added that through tenacity, collaboration, and a people-centered approach, The Gambia is poised to act as a catalyst for digital tax modernisation across the region—fulfilling his vision to make it the digital taxation hub of West Africa.
The GRA Commissioner of Customs Alhagie Mbye welcomed the team from Sierra Leone and assured them of the Authority’s commitment to provide with all the information they need. He said exchanging ideas between the different revenue authorities is a normal international standard. Commissioner Mbye argued that GRA is leading when it comes to digitalisation in West Africa.
The Sierra Leone Commissioner of Customs Services Department and head of the team, Mr Tennyson Bio, said the visit is a benchmarking exercise envisaged to study GRA’s model.
He said The Gambia and Sierra Leone have suffered similar challenges dating back to the Independence struggle.
“So we are here to learn from your structures, especially the ITC and Asycuda World platforms because you are far ahead of us. We want to make sure that we benefit from the knowledge you have. We hope during our stay we have access and get answers to the challenges we are facing,” he said.
He commended Commissioner of Customs Alhagie Mbye for been supportive to his team.
