PAC Drops Bombshell

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Sierra Leone’s Parliament, which is an accountability wing of Parliament has raised serious concerns over the poor performance of NRA in revenue generation.

On behalf of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Honorable Tawa Conteh who doubles as the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee revealed that NRA has not been robust in fulfilling its duties in collecting tax.

The Deputy Speaker emphasized that, despite being mandated by an Act of Parliament to collect revenue, NRA has consistently underperformed. He noted that since PAC began its hearings on the 2021 Audit Report, the committee has already recovered over fifty billion Leones from institutions that owed NRA. Deputy Speaker further questioned what the NRA had been doing all this time, given the country’s pressing need for funds to undertake essential projects nationwide.

The Deputy Speaker continued by urging all government officials to work harder in support of His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio in achieving his manifesto promise to the people of Sierra Leone.

“If government fails to meet its goals, the President will face public backlash, while those responsible for poor advice will remain unnoticed, ” he admonished, adding further that, the people will be left with no option but to blame the President.

“Some of you sitting comfortably in your zones, are the ones giving bad advice,” he remarked.

According to the Deputy Speaker, the 2018 Government Budget presented by the former Finance Minister Jacob Jusu Saffa, which outlined strategies to improve the implementation of audit recommendations, the budget stressed the need for enhanced tax compliance and outlined several measures to strengthen tax administration, including the creation of a reliable taxpayer database, expanding the tax base, and auditing key sectors like mining and telecommunications.

Among the key strategies listed were the establishment of a tax court to prosecute defaulters and the implementation of a post-clearance audit system to improve customs compliance. The budget also called for a national taxpayer sensitization campaign and the development of a support strategy for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to improve tax compliance.

The PAC’s findings have raised questions about the NRA’s effectiveness and its role in supporting the government’s broader economic goals.