Western Equatoria officials and stakeholders posed for photo during the opening of a three-day workshop - courtesy

Authorities in Western Equatoria State have launched a three-day workshop in Yambio aimed at harmonizing tax collection and improving transparency in public financial management.

The workshop, organized in partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), brings together key stakeholders from across the state.

These include county commissioners, executive directors, state ministers, lawmakers, and officials from the State Revenue Authority.

According to the organizers, the goal of the workshop is to clarify the roles and responsibilities in tax collection at the national, state, and county levels.

They say this will help prevent revenue mismanagement and ensure public funds are properly used to deliver services.

Speaking during the opening session on Monday, State Minister of Finance, Planning, and Investment, Bazia Tito Morris said the state is losing a lot of revenue because taxes are not reaching government accounts.

He said the government need to identify new sources of revenue and broaden the tax base.

“The government thought it was that we organise this workshop so that come together all the state government officers right from the county’s county commissioners and executive directors and the director generals and ministers come together so that we understand the need for us to collect tax,” he said.

Meanwhile, Clement Gongi Liba, Chairperson of the Committee on Economy, Finance, and Investment in the Transitional State Legislative Assembly, said the parliament plays a key role in approving taxes and ensuring they are spent responsibly.

“We have gathered here to attend a very important capacity building on the harmonization of taxes in Western Equatoria State,” he noted.

Civil society representative Odeta Miwai also welcomed the workshop.

She said many citizens are unhappy with high taxation and the lack of visible development from the money collected.

“Three days workshop which is about the revenue collection in the state, how it is being collected, how it is used, and where is the source of the revenue coming from?” she explained.

UNDP Economic Governance Analyst Otto James Avelino said the training is part of efforts to promote accountability and reduce confusion about which level of government is responsible for collecting different types of taxes.

“The issues around accountability, the public financial management aspect is what we are delivering to the government in terms of technical training like this one here,” he said.

The Commissioner of the State Revenue Authority, James Richard Ramadan, said the workshop is a vital step towards ending overlapping

“I think this day is a very great day for us here in the Western Equatoria state so that we can sit together and harmonize our taxes between the national government, then the states, and then the local government,” he said.

The three-day workshop is expected to help establish a more transparent and fair taxation system in Western Equatoria.

Organizers hope that the outcome will boost revenue collection and restore public trust in government spending.