The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Ibrahim Tawa Conteh, has unleashed a blistering critique of the National Revenue Authority (NRA), accusing the institution of systemic failures that bleed Sierra Leone’s treasury and hinder national development.
Speaking during the final debate on the Fiscal Year 2025 National Budget, Hon. Tawa lambasted the NRA for its monopolistic grip on the tax system, exposing gaping flaws in tax assessment, collection, and auditing. “If the NRA is the player, referee, VAR, and almost everything else in the tax system, there is no way we can achieve accurate auditing,” he thundered.
Hon. Tawa’s fiery address highlighted severe mismanagement and the NRA’s alleged inability to reconcile billions in uncollected taxes. He revealed that enterprises audited by the NRA often contest assessments but fail to pay outstanding amounts, citing the authority’s unchecked power over every step of the process.
“The NRA assesses, confirms payments, validates payments, and reports payments all by itself. It’s a complete monopoly, and it’s failing us,” he declared, accusing the institution of lacking transparency and accountability.
The Deputy Speaker did not mince words on the revenue authority’s botched migration from the Asycuda World system to the Integrated Tax Administration System (ITAS), which he said effectively erased a critical baseline for revenue tracking. “We are still struggling to understand what happened during that transition. Where is our money going?” he demanded, warning that Sierra Leone’s inability to account for lost revenue is crippling the economy.
Slamming the country’s dismal tax collection rate—barely 30% of its capacity—Hon. Tawa called for sweeping reforms to plug revenue leakages. He decried the absence of mandatory reconciliatory reports from critical tax handles like customs duties and GST, which, he said, leaves Parliament and the public in the dark about the true state of Sierra Leone’s finances.
“Without revenue, we cannot function as a country,” he warned, urging immediate enforcement of Regulations 65 and 70 to demand monthly reconciliatory statements.
Hon. Tawa painted a stark picture of Sierra Leone’s financial mismanagement, urging Parliament to take immediate action. “We are losing money every day to other people. This House must hold revenue agencies accountable. If we don’t fix this, Sierra Leone’s future is at stake,” he said.
As the 2025 budget debates concluded, the Deputy Speaker’s explosive remarks are expected to ignite nationwide scrutiny of the NRA and demand systemic overhauls in the country’s tax administration. For a country striving to rebuild its economy, the stakes could not be higher.
