The deal is a practical example of South-South cooperation. Under it, the LRA will provide targeted technical assistance to support the GRA in designing, developing and implementing a functional Revenue Collection Dashboard prototype.
The assistance will cover assessment of GRA's existing revenue data systems, identification of key revenue performance indicators, advice on dashboard architecture, development of an operational prototype, systems integration and automation, and capacity building for GRA staff.
The partnership emerged from an informal exchange during the WATAF meetings. At a casual dinner, the Liberian delegation presented the Revenue Collection Dashboard currently used by the LRA, showing how it consolidates revenue information and monitors collection performance.
Impressed by the innovation and its potential for GRA's ongoing digitalisation drive, Commissioner General Darboe requested technical assistance to learn from Liberia's experience. The request was immediately welcomed by his Liberian counterpart and later formalised through official correspondence and the MoE signing.
Under the agreement, the LRA will deploy Mr. Jupar Dunbar, Assistant Commissioner for Enterprise Data Analytics, to The Gambia for an initial three weeks. Mr. Dunbar was the primary developer of the LRA's own dashboard and will focus on transferring practical knowledge and helping GRA develop a prototype suited to its own environment.
A key component is knowledge transfer. GRA personnel will be trained to independently maintain and utilise the dashboard after the technical assistance ends.
Speaking at the signing, Mr. Darboe thanked the LRA for its speed and enthusiasm, noting that the LRA had volunteered to finance the expert's return airfare between Monrovia and Banjul, while GRA will provide accommodation, local transport and logistical support.
He described the partnership as the kind of South-South cooperation and African peer learning he has consistently advocated.
"Where one administration develops an effective digital solution, others should have the opportunity to learn from it," Mr. Darboe said.
He stressed that such cooperation reduces reform costs, accelerates modernisation and helps African revenue administrations develop solutions responsive to their realities, moving beyond declarations into practical exchanges.
For the GRA, the dashboard is expected to strengthen how revenue information is consolidated and used for management. The cooperation also demonstrates how regional platforms like WATAF can facilitate tangible institutional collaboration beyond conferences.
