As Parliament ends debate on President’s Speech Opposition Lawmaker advocates for Revenue Collection Agency
As Parliament on Friday,22nd October ended a week long debate on the speech delivered by the President during the state opening of Parliament, Hon. Emma Kowa of Bo district last Thursday called on government and Sierra Leoneans to ensure, they give the NRA the tools needed in performing its functions. (Photo: NRA Boss, Haja Kallah-Kamara)
The NRA was, among other functions responsible for revenue collection for government. It has, as departments – the Customs and Excise, Income Tax and Goods and Services Tax, with plans currently underway for the introduction of the Domestic Tax Department that will see the Income Tax and GST under one umbrella.
Making her contribution on a range of issues surrounding the speech delivered by the President, and more specifically on the economy, the SLPP MP, Hon. Emma Kowa of Bo said, there is every need to give the National Revenue Authority the tools the agency needed in the performance of its function like revenue collection.
Earlier, another Member of Parliament, Hon David Conteh made a comparative analysis in terms of revenues collected by the National Revenue Authority under the SLPP regime and that collected by the Authority under the APC government. Hon Conteh revealed that under the SLPP, the revenues collected by the NRA were less below what has been collected by the Authority under the current regime. As of September this year, Hon. David Conteh said, over 666 billion Leones has been collected by the NRA and that in 2009 alone, over 700 billion Leones was also collected by the National Revenue Authority.
Among other things, Hon Conteh said, the NRA under an Acting Commissioner-General, Haja Kallah Kamara is doing well and that ‘this is a turnaround…’ Earlier on Thuirsday, 21st of October, another MP, Hon. Alimamy Kamara called his colleague Parliamentarians and Sierra Leoneans to celebrate for what the NRA, especially the GST has been doing in recent times. Hon. Alimamy Kamara also spoke that internal revenue mobilization is key to national development and that the introduction of the Automated System for Customs Data by NRA is one of several ways of addressing revenue leakages and that NRA will, through the ASYCUDA system.
Also, another Member of Parliament Hon. Coleson Turay commended the NRA for successfully implementing its Modernization Plan. He highlighted that there has been a turnaround in the revenues collection effort by the NRA. Hon Hassan B. Sheriff on his part also commended the NRA, saying ‘the NRA is working…the Acting Commissioner-General is working…today we are not last in the Human Development Index
President Ernest Bai Koroma, during the State Opening of Parliament on 8th October spoke, that in the first half of 2010, GST collections amounted to Le98.5 billion, far in excess of the amount collected for the whole of 2009 from the previous seven taxes replaced by the GST.’… Our reforms in the tax collection system have enabled the Government to increase Sierra Leone’s revenue collection effort to 11.7% of GDP in 2009 and it is expected to reach 13% this year….’
However, Hon. Phillip Tondoneh of the SLPP said, the economy of the country is in bad shape. Hon Momoh Pujeh, Minority Leader in Parliament also added his voice in analyzing the President’s speech, as well as Hon.SBB Dumbuya, Majority Leader.
Meanwhile, the call for national support to the NRA by an opposition MP has been seen as a move in the right direction as the opposition is also part of state governance.
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