Africano Mande, the Commissioner General of the National Revenue Authority speaking during his reception at the NRA headquarters in Juba - Charles Wote/Eye Radio - October 5, 2023

The newly appointed Commissioner General of the National Revenue Authority has suggested the need for strong revenue accounting, verification, and reconciliation within the institution.

Africano Mande was elevated as the Commissioner General of the revenue institution through a republican decree announced on the state-run TV, SSBC on Monday.

He says his major responsibility will be to provide strategic leadership and ensure the revenue authority policies are implemented to achieve its target.

This according to him, can only be achieved if the institution has what he referred to as a robust department of revenue accounting, verification, and reconciliation.

“We need to have a robust department of revenue accounting, verification, and reconciliation,” Mande said while speaking during his reception at the NRA headquarters in Juba.

“On the paper, we can say we have collected 23 billion but if it reaches the accounts of the Ministry of Finance, they will say it is only 18 billion then what happened in between here? he asked.

“When I am asked, I will say I will go and ask, and when I go and ask that one will say he or she is going to ask and then it goes and another month will come and the same thing will continue to repeat itself,” he said.

“We have to address it unless we have a robust department of revenue accounting, verification, and reconciliation.”

For his part, the acting chairperson of the revenue board Dr. Gabriel Isaac Awow encouraged the new leadership to motivate their staff to perform better.

“What is important in this area of collection is the motivation. I am advising you and I got the opportunity today, to tell you these people their rights must be given,” said Isaac.

“You motivate them what you get give them priority will raise their morale and I am sure they will raise the collection, if we don’t do this, what you are saying will not work.”

Meanwhile, the deputy Commissioner General of the institution Albino Dak Othow suggested the need to invest in human resources and technology to improve the work of the institution.

“For us as NRA, if we want really to have a good performance, then we need to invest, we invest in human capital we need to also invest in the tools and invest in the technology so that we are able to capture all elements of what people were talking about, we cannot get out of it if we don’t have a technology that will capture all those things,” said Dak.

The National Revenue Authority is the revenue service of the South Sudan Government;

It is a non-oil Revenue collecting body established in 2016 under the National Revenue Authority Act, 2016.

Its core functions include evaluating, collecting, and accounting for all revenue or tax due to the government at the least possible cost to the public in agreement with the laws and specified provisions of the written laws of South Sudan.

Also, to counsel on matters relating to the administration of, and collection of revenue under the written laws or the specified provisions of the written laws of South Sudan.