Dr. Patrick Kennedy Mugoya, the former Commissioner-General of National Revenue Authority. | Photo: NRA

Dr. Patrick Kennedy Mugoya, the former Commissioner-General of the National Revenue Authority who was sacked on Friday by President Salva Kiir, exits the institution with a record non-oil revenue collection and tax reforms.

Mugoya was fired after the expiry of his contract and replaced with former Finance Minister Athian Diing Athian – in a presidential decree read on state television SSBC.

His departure comes as the institution was mired with demonstrations over a controversial new recruitment plan.

On June 16, 2023, more than 100 embattled NRA staff staged a peaceful demonstration in Juba against the major layoff outside the institution’s headquarters.

– Electronic tax system –

Upon his appointment on October 1, 2020, Dr. Mugoya spearheaded the introduction of an electronic tax (eTax) system in a bid to ensure transparency in the non-oil revenue sector.

This provides for the registration of taxpayers and issuance of Tax Identification Numbers (TINs) to be done online through the eTax portal.

The eTax system addresses the historical challenge facing the South Sudan government in ensuring that citizens meet their tax obligations.

Before the technology was adopted, South Sudan had been using a manual system of tax administration.

With the new system, taxpayers can declare and file returns, make tax payments, and access tax-related services, including applying for a tax compliance certificate.

– Record non-oil revenue –

Under the outgoing NRA boss, non-oil revenue collection thrived to a historic level over the years – exceeding monthly and annual targets.

In an interview with Voice of America on July 2022, Mugoya said there was a notable increase in non-oil revenues and expressed optimism that the institution could reach its target of 100 billion South Sudanese Pounds per year.

“This is the first month of the financial year 2021-2022 for which we have collected a target of 100 billion South Sudanese pounds. In order for NRA to achieve its target, our collections should not fall below 9.7 billion South Sudanese pounds per month,” he said.

On March 15, 2023, NRA disclosed that it had already collected SSP 124 billion from non-oil revenues eight months into the 2022/2023 fiscal year, surpassing the target set by the government.

“The good news is that by around 15 March, we have collected SSP 124 Billion. You all know that the government had requested or tasked us to collect 117.2 billion for the 12 months,” Mugoya said addressing NRA staff at a performance review workshop.

“We have already surpassed the target given to us by the government, we’ve not yet attained the target we set in the strategic plan,” he added.

Who is Patrick Mugoya?

Prior to being appointed as the Commissioner-General of NRA, Dr. Mugoya – a Tanzanian national – was a Senior Research Fellow at the East African Community Secretariat from February 2017 to September 2020.

He served as Deputy Commissioner for Customs and Excise at the Tanzania Revenue Authority from June 2013 to May 2016, after having served as Rector for the Tanzanian Institute of Tax Administration (ITA) from January 2004 to May 2013.

Dr. Mugoya also served as an academician at the Dar es Salaam-based Institute of Finance Management (IFM) in 2003 where he rose through the faculty ladder from Tutorial Assistant to Senior Lecturer.

He holds an Advanced Diploma in Certified Accountancy from the former Institute of Development Management (IDM), Tanzania, a Master’s Degree in Tax Policy and Management from Keio University, Japan, and a Ph.D. In Economics (Taxation) from the Commonwealth Open University (COU), UK.

Who is Athian Diing?

The new NRA Commissioner-General Athian Diing Athian, is the former Minister of Finance and Planning who replaced Salvatore Garang Mabiordit in September 2020.

He was then relieved in November 2021 through a presidential decree which saw the appointment of Agak Acuil in his place.

Athian was also a former deputy finance minister until 2018 when Kiir removed him.