By Lamin Cham
The Standard Newspaper has yesterday conferred the coveted Gambian of The Year Award on Yankuba Darboe, the Commissioner General of the Gambia Revenue Authority. He is the 30th winner of the award, initiated by the late publisher of the News and Report Magazine Swaebou Conateh. After his demise in 2015, The Standard Newspaper took up the mandate in 2020 and has since awarded several distinguished Gambians who were deemed by an award committee to have done good and impacted on the nation.
Presiding over the ceremony at the Ocean Bay Hotel in Bakau, the Managing Director of The Standard Newspaper, Sheriff Bojang, congratulated Mr Darboe who he said has joined a long list of awardees that includes current and former presidents and a host of other people from different fields. “As in the case of some previous winners, the Award is not only a recognition of the celebrant, Mr Yankuba Darboe’s personal achievements and contribution to the common good over the past year, but also an encouragement to his team and staff at the Gambia Revenue Authority and other servants of the state to rededicate themselves, heart and soul, to the onerous task of propelling the ship of the Gambian state to safe shores and work towards ensuring that the dignity of all citizens and residents are respected, and all Gambians availed the opportunity to realise their full potential,” MD Bojang said in reciting the winner’s profile.
“Many other people could have won this award today but in the judgment of the Award Committee, Yankuba Darboe’s exemplary and innovative leadership as the taxman is very deserving of the accolade,” MD Bojang said.
Since taking over the helm as Commissioner General of this critical institution in 2015, Mr Yankuba Darboe has transformed the Gambia Revenue Authority by reforming its operational ethos and digitalising systems and processes; recruiting highly qualified personnel and developing capacity; raising the corporate profile and changing perceptions about the agency and its personnel; and most significantly, meeting and surpassing the collection targets set by the government year in and year out.
The Award Committee also recognized Yankuba Darboe has led by example and proved himself as an effective administrator, inspiring motivator and intelligent leader who communicates well and has creative ideas, which he is able to see through to completion. “He has set a good example of reliability, dependability and commitment, and is, therefore without question, a most deserving recipient of this award”, the Award Committee noted.
In his acceptance speech, Mr Darboe, in his usual humility, said the award is the collective recognition of the entire GRA staff across the country who have worked tirelessly to ensure that the targets set by government in tax collection is achieved each year.
Mr Darboe said he is dedicating the award to the GRA staff and vowed that it will even encourage him more to go for greater achievement. “Each year we are tasked to hit a target including the recent one D19 billion and I am sure with my team we will be able to achieve that.” He thanked the management of The Standard Newspaper for the recognition.
The ceremony was attended by deputy GRA Commissioner General Issa Jallow and other senior management members as well as Pa Sallah Jeng, the General Manager of The Standard who performed the presentation of the award to CG Darboe.
