By: Mohamed Sahr
From a well-profiled and most-suited player of the National Public Procurement Authority (NPPA) to the custodian of the country’s revenue mecca. Chief Ibrahim Brima Swarray’s appointment as the new Commissioner General of the National Revenue Authority (NRA) did not come as rocket science in the minds of Sierra Leoneans but as a clear testament to hard work, trust, belief and commitment to President Bio’s gainful strides especially in education and national cohesion.
Chief Ibrahim Brima Swarray was born in Kenema District in a town called Ngelehun to a provincial family. He did his primary education at the Methodist Primary School in Kenema where he made a remarkable score in his primary school examination. As a young man by then whose thirst for education remained meriting attention before competing for alternatives, he furthered his secondary school education at the Bo Government Secondary School. His nurturing leadership had begun long ago whiles in Bo School. Being a member of Liverpool Hall at that time, he started showcasing leadership prowess among his peers in and out of the school environment.
As a determined and stark believer in education, Chief Ibriham Brima Swarray enrolled on the Institute of Public Administration and Management (IPAM), University of Sierra Leone where he bagged a Diploma in Business Administration, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Postgraduate Diploma in Procurement and Supply Chain Management. Though that was not enough, he had a Masters of Science (M.sc) degree in Development Management. He had meritoriously been conferred with a Masters of Science in Procurement and Supply Chain Management at the University of Salford in the United Kingdom as well.
Away from his resounding educational background, President Bio’s previous administration saw the need for an enviable and innovative procurement hub in Sierra Leone. There and then Chief Ibrahim Brima Swarray was appointed as the gatekeeper of the National Public Procurement Authority. He transformed the procurement system that was on life-support into a productive and digital-based procurement administration. This is to say, the National Public Procurement Authority has got commendable pride as well as celebrated in Sierra Leone and beyond.
Climaxing his three years in office as head of NPPA, he catalogued consistent publication of the quarterly price norm which serves as a price tool to guide procurement practitioners, and publication of the bulletin that updates all procurement processes and procedures on a quarterly basis. He developed a supplies database that tracks all legitimate supplies within the business ecosystem of Sierra Leone, decentralized the NPPA office in all regional headquarters towns, he introduced an updated and user-friendly public procurement manual, the sales of bid documents-proceeds which entered directly into the government consolidated fund gearing towards raising revenue for the government. Also, Chief Ibrahim Brima Swarray recruited more staff of which the majority were young people to enhance the effective and efficient functioning of the workspace.
Surprisingly enough, before welcoming him into the fold of His Excellency President Bio’s horsemen, Mr Swarray served as the Senior Procurement Officer at the Sierra Leone Correctional Centre, and he became the Procurement Manager of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation. He also became a banking officer at the United Bank of Africa (UBA). However, he took pride in all of these areas and made a distinctive show of professionalism at the end.
Chief Ibrahim Brima Swarray is intelligent, people-centred, action-oriented, creative, compassionate, trustworthy, decisive and passionate about making a difference wherever he finds himself. In other words, his unique stories and the incredible sacrifices he embarked on especially for school-going pupils in Sierra Leone through the tremendous work of his foundation, tempted President Bio to tick his spot as the new Commissioner General of the National Revenue Authority in the first concluded list of cabinet appointees.