Barely two (2) months after taking over as Commissioner General Mr Alieu Sesay has gone on record for suspending two (2) and dismissing two (2) officials of the National Revenue Authority (NRA).
Although reasons for the suspension and dismissal were not advanced, the newly appointed Commissioner General has disclosed plans to suspend and sack more officials of that financial institution for corrupt practices.
Commissioner Sesay made this disclosure when he was addressing a cross section of the business community in Makeni on voting day March 29, 08. He paid glowing tributes to his predecessors Dr. John Karimu and also disclosed that no government can run a state on stones and therefore revenue collection is a challenge to the government which must be supported.
It is the moral responsibility of every Sierra Leone to pay taxes for the development of the country, he added.
He reiterated the fact that the APC government is committed to making a difference on the lives of the people through a revenue collection drive.
Dilating on this for NRA, the new NRA boss spoke about providing services to the tax payers, flow of information, transparency and accountability as the triple concepts he will pursue to release his vision.
The installation of complaint and suggestion Boxes Questionnaire on tax payers perception, assessing, collecting, auditing, enforcing the tax laws are some of the strategies he will put in place to compliment his concepts on this vision for NRA.
In his aggressive revenue collection drive, Commissioner Sesay emphasized that journalists, diplomats and even President Koroma will not be exempted as long as they are engaged in business transactions.
The Deputy Commissioner of Customs and Excise commissioner Abubakarr Finnoh warned traders to not only make the correct payment of their goods but that they must also insist on demanding receipt for any payment made at customs.
He disclosed that a committee has been set up to discourage charter men from Business operations. On the issue of the high tariffs at the Customs commissioner Finnoh pleaded with traders to exercise patience promising that very soon the situation will be normalized.
The regional Chairman of the petty traders association based in Makeni Pa. Alhaji A..M. Bangura made a position statement on behalf of the Makeni traders.
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