Commission Probing Into Former Gambian President Jammeh (Part 3)

The Commissioner General of The Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) has told the three-member Commission of Inquiry headed by Surahata S. Janneh that GRA had no hand in the opening and operations of the two tax recovery accounts at the Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) and Trust Bank Limited.

Yankuba Darboe made these testimonies after an invitation by the commission to give evidence about the opening and operations of two tax recovery accounts, one of each held at GTBank and Trust Bank Ltd.
He stated: “We have nothing to do with their opening, operations and we do not know the signatories to these two accounts mentioned. The monies paid to these accounts were never transferred to the GRA accounts at Central Bank.”
He recalled that he was aware of a tax commission instituted in 2011 to cover from the period of 1999 to 2011, likewise its recommendations.
However, when asked by Counsel Amie N.D. Bensouda as to whether his office had anything to do with the implementation of the recommendations?, Commissioner Darboe responded that: “There was a tax commission and then later, there was a task force that was set up to revise the tax commission finding.”
He made it clear that after the completion of the tax commission, defaulters were to pay what was recommended by the commission and during the course of that process GRA had no hand in it, because it was set up by the Office of the President and the attorney general chambers.
“My office had nothing to do with that, however, due to the complaints of those that were called to the commission, the Ministry of Justice in consultation with the Office of the President set up another task force to review the recommendations of the already completed Tax Commission,” he added.
Commissioner Darboe continued; “during the course of that, my office was consulted to provide the expertise in order for them to do the review and my office identified someone to lead the task force.”
After the review, he went on, a report was sent out to offices including his office, and they were later informed that an account was opened were those affected could pay the monies into and this account was the one at GT Bank, but he said did not know who opened the account.
He maintained that it was not normal to open this account because at the level of the GRA, they have two main accounts in which any revenue collected from domestic tax, there is an account at the Central Bank of The Gambia opened in the name of Commissioner of Domestic Taxes were the money is paid and if it is international trade, they also have an account at the Central Bank opened in the name of Commissioner of Customs were all the monies are paid.
“Consequently, the funds recovered from the findings of the tax commission were not directed to the GRA accounts at Central Bank,” he stated.
The GRA boss added that as far as technology is moving, GRA decided to do away with collecting physical cash as tax payments which they used to do.
He said they had anMoU with some commercial banks where they opened transit accounts through which accounts the money would be collected on their behalf by the commercial bank and then it goes to the Central Bank within a week.
by Fatou Sowe -Daily Observer
August 14th, 2017