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

The former Commissioner-General of the National Revenue Authority has thanked South Sudan government for entrusting him with serving the country as he hails his “tremendous achievements” while rolling the curtain down on a 33-month-long tenure.

Mugoya, a Tanzanian, was fired by President Salva Kiir in a presidential decree broadcasted on June 23, 2023 – after his contract expired.

He was replaced with former Finance Minister Athian Diing Athian, who has now assumed office.

“Today marks the conclusion of 33 remarkable months of my service at the National Revenue Authority as the Commissioner-General,” Mugoya said in a long statement posted on his official Twitter account.

“For me, it is a day of joy for the tremendous achievements we have attained at the NRA with implementing government reforms in non-oil revenue mobilization,” he said.

The most important achievement that Dr. Mugoya boasted of in his farewell message – is the increase in Non-Oil Revenue from when he took office.

“In my service, I have enjoyed tremendous support, encouragement and inspiration to deliver as per the expectations of the citizenry, not only from the Board (of Directors) and the Ministry but also from the wider public, development partners and the political leadership of this great nation,” he said.

“This resulted into an increase in non-oil revenue from a gross monthly average of 3.9 billion pounds in FY 2020-2021 to 6.7 billion in FY 2021-2022, and now an average of 16 billion in FY 2023-2024.”

Mugoya said he believes in the capabilities of his successor Athian Diing Athian to build on his achievements and deliver more reforms in the tax sector.

Prior to his appointment as NRA Commissioner-General, Dr. Mugoya was a Senior Research Fellow at the East African Community Secretariat from February 2017 to September 2020.

His sacking 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.

The employees made unsubstantiated claims that Dr. Mugoya had been involved in corruption.

Mugoya could not immediately respond to Eye Radio’s request for comment. But the former NRA boss took to Twitter to maintain that “no amount threats or intimidation” will stop him from effecting reforms in the institution.