The convergence was held at Bakadaji Hotel.
Delivering a statement at the opening ceremony, the GRA Commissioner General Yankuba Darboe says FIS was a follow up to the ongoing implementation of the GRA Digital Tracking System [GRA-DTS] – a physical stamp control system being used by manufacturers and importers of excisable products within the scope of this project.
He revealed that SIPCPA was contracted by the government of The Gambia through the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs in February 2023 to implement solutions for Excisable Products, Refined Fuels and Telecommunications Services.
According to GRA, the project was intended to be implemented in phases, while “today marks the sensitisation workshop for key stakeholders in the implementation of this second phase – Fuel Integrity Solution [FIS].”
“During this one-day workshop, all stakeholders will be sensitised on how to use the software for managing the marking operations will be operationalised.”
“The Authority has set up a dedicated enforcement staff to carry out compliance monitoring of all products within the scope of this project who will report incidents of non-compliance during the course of their compliance monitoring activity for the timely intervention of GRA Management,” GRA boss stated.
“I want to thank the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs for their unwavering support to the Authority. My thanks also go to the French Development Agency for providing the much-needed funds to organise this sensitisation workshop,” he added.
The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, Abdoulie Jallow, in declaring the workshop open said the event marks another milestone in the implementation of a Public Private Partnership contract between the government of The Gambia as contracting authority and SICPA Ltd.
“This is one of the key components of the MOFEA/GRA digital transformation and governance,” he affirmed.
He recalled that the Government of The Gambia signed a Public-Private Partnership Agreement with SICPA on 24th of February 2023, for the implementation of a Revenue Mobilisation Solution for Excisable Goods, Telecom Services and Refined Fuels.
“This procurement was done according to National PPP policy and due process was followed from project identification to selection of most responsive bidder. Thus, the contract was equally negotiated including all relevant stakeholders from a government perspective.”
