By Hafsatu Z Bangura
Budget Advocacy Network (BAN) with support from Irish Aid in collaboration with the National Revenue Authority (NRA) and the Ministry of Finance budget bureau held a fruitful training for journalist on public financial management at the Sierra Leone Association of Journalist (SLAJ) headquarters on the 24th March 2022.
Speaking at the training Dr. Philip Michael Kargbo Senior Director Monitoring, Research and Planning at the National Revenue Authority and Dr. Ibrahim Sorie Kamara both lectured on the overall revenue mobilization strategy and ECR rollout functions of the NRA, Vision, Mission, Challenges, Recent Achievements of the NRA, and the introduction of the Electronic Cash Register Machine (ECR).
In his opening address to the fourth estate, he said the importance of the training is to educate the public through the media on public financial management and the purpose or the introduction of the ECR machine that has led to so many controversies.
He continued that Budget Advocacy Network lives to serve the sole purpose of understanding public financial management. He explained the functions of the NRA of which he said one of the major functions is to asses and collect revenues on behalf of government, improve compliance (filing &payment on time), improve trade facilitation and border security (i.e., to minimize physical smuggling and standardized goods).
He furthermore stated that NRA with its vision is to be an institution of excellence, a national and regional reference in public revenue administration. He spoke about the recent achievements of the NRA of which he said one of the most recent achievements was the introduction of the ASYCUDA system world for customs.
Another major achievement he spoke of was the implementation of customs electronic smuggle widow, introduction of ITAS, introduction of ECR for GST Administration, enhancing tax compliance (DTTPS). And block Registration exercise in West Area.
He said despite these recent achievements of the NRA there have been challenges faced so far as the revenues are still not adequate and stable to support government spending, large informal sector thus affecting the capacity to tax the larger portion of economic activities, low compliance arising from weak tax paying culture and inadequate tax education.
Mr. Osman Kamara of the Ministry of Finance Budget Bureau spoke on the process involved in the development of the finance Act and the allocation of budgets for MDA’s, process and procedures involved, stakeholders involved in the disbursement od the funds for MDA’s.
Dr. Ibrahim Sorie Kamara in his concluding statement said the electronic cash register machine was introduced last year by the National Revenue Authority and that it aims at businesses which are over 100 million Leones and above known as the Macro business, medium business 100million-10million below and micro business which is below 10million is out of NRA tax but pays little tax to the Freetown city council.
He also mentioned that rice, fuel, gas and flour are not GST charged, and added that the Electronic Cash Register is like that of a calculator A1-A3, and SGC which are been used in shops or businesses that make over 100million leones and that 15% of money is deducted on purchase of goods, he encouraged that the ECR machine is not meant to monitor the sales of business people as it only aims at the deduction of tax due to the fact that these business owners refuse to pay tax or delay the process of tax payment.
