The high-powered delegation acknowledged that The Gambia is “far ahead” of Sierra Leone Revenue Authority in terms of performance, prompting the delegation to come and interact and learn best practices from the GRA to enable them replicate those success stories from the GRA.
The Sierra Leone Commissioner of Customs Services Department and head of the team, Mr. Tennyson Bio, described the visit as a benchmarking exercise envisaged to study GRA’s model.
He said The Gambia and Sierra Leone have suffered similar challenges dating back to the independence struggle.
“So we are here to learn from your structures, especially the ITC and ASYCUDA World platforms; because you are far ahead of us. We want to make sure that we benefit from the knowledge you have. We hope during our stay we have access and get answers to the challenges we are facing,” he said.
Welcoming the delegation to The Gambia, Commissioner General Darboe highlighted some major successes registered by the GRA under his watch and also some of the reforms he undertook through study tours from other countries as well.
According to him, these made GRA one of the most vibrant and highly respected institutions in The Gambia. He explained that tax administration cannot anymore operate effectively and efficiently in the absence of digitalisation, describing it as vital.
CG Darboe emphasised that digitalisation is a must in this 21st century, pointing out that reforms undertaken by GRA were groundbreaking; systems such as ASYCUDA World and Single Window. He explained how GRA was able to streamline customs, improve compliance, and significantly curtail the leakage in government revenue.
According to the GRA boss, these platforms serve as a blueprint for African Tax Administration as several tax authorities have conducted study tours to GRA to learn from its digital transformative journey.
CG Darboe further told the Sierra Leone delegation that his vision for the GRA is not only national in scope but deliberately regional, envisaged to position The Gambia as a catalyst for digital tax administration excellence across West Africa. He argued that tax administrators cannot anymore afford to operate manually.
He cited that the GRA’s reforms have made it a model for digital tax administration, while leveraging this position to advocate for regional cooperation, knowledge sharing, and capacity building.
“Benchmarking trips to digital leaders—such as Zambia’s highly automated tax administration served as part of GRA’s learning approach, enabling the Authority to adopt and localize best practices,” he explained, noting that since undertaking these reforms, annual collections have soared, reaching D19.2 billion in 2024—an achievement directly attributed to the embrace of digital systems, improved compliance, and operational integrity.
CG Darboe highlighted that automated processes have drastically reduced corruption, addressed taxpayer concerns, and elevated confidence in the tax administration system.
“There is no turning back on digitalization. It is the only way forward to meet the revenue needs of our governments and to ensure sustainable development for our nations,” CG Darboe said.
He added that through tenacity, collaboration, and a people-centered approach, The Gambia is poised to act as a catalyst for digital tax modernisation across the region—fulfilling his vision to make it the digital taxation hub of West Africa.
CG Darboe seized the opportunity to announce a bold vision to establish The Gambia as a digital taxation hub for West Africa—a transformation rooted in his leadership, strategic reforms, and an unwavering commitment to modernisation.
Under his stewardship, the Authority has adopted advanced digital systems and made operational efficiency and transparency its hallmark.
The GRA Commissioner of Customs, Alhagie Mbye, also welcomed the team from Sierra Leone and assured them of the Authority’s commitment to provide with all the information they need.
He said exchanging ideas between the different revenue authorities is a normal international standard. Commissioner Mbye argued that GRA leads in digitalisation in West Africa.
