The Commissioner General of the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), James Dorbor Jallah, alongside Deputy Commissioners for Administration and Technical Affairs, pledged their commitment over the weekend to institutional reform and compliance with established policies aimed at enhancing transparency, building staff confidence, maintaining integrity, and bolstering revenue collection.
The LRA executives emphasized in separate remarks that the LRA operates as a professional institution with robust policies and standard operating procedures that uphold its integrity and set it apart. They committed to adhering to these standards as they lead efforts to meet national revenue targets.
The officials made these commitments during three-day review of the LRA’s key policies and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). This strategic review, organized by the Enterprise Design, Quality Assurance & Results Division (EDQARD), aims to ensure that internal processes effectively support the LRA’s lawful revenue collection initiatives.
The LRA currently maintains over 100 SOPs and policies, many of which were established between 2016 and 2018. According to Thomas Jallah, Manager of the Enterprise Design and Results Section (EDRS), the review focused on essential SOPs, including those on taxpayer return processing, HR staff rotation, and logistics management, to align them with current operational needs and challenges.
EDQARD’s Assistant Commissioner, Niasehkar Glausea, stated that following the stakeholders’ engagements and recommendations, the Division will collaborate with the owners of the SOPs to create process flows for each new and amended SOP. This will ensure easy understanding and adherence.
Deputy Commissioner General for Administrative Affairs, Samuel Bennett, Jr., commended the participants for their dedication, urging them to approach the discussions with purpose as they refine these critical policy documents. He stated, “We are on strong footing; let’s continue making progress together.”
Addressing the gathering, Deputy Commissioner General for Technical Affairs, Gabriel Y. Montgomery, expressed his support for revising these policies and SOPs to meet present-day realities. Highlighting the taxpayer return processing procedures, he emphasized the need for close collaboration with the banking system to streamline return processing. He noted that if the SOPs and policies are thoroughly re-engineered and rigorously followed, they will strengthen LRA’s operations and drive revenue growth.
Meanwhile, Commissioner General Jallah praised EDQARD for convening internal stakeholders to engage in these critical discussions and align the LRA’s policies with current realities, including digitization. He stressed that the focus should go beyond merely creating or updating policies; everyone must consistently adhere to these standards to achieve the desired outcomes. “We must show discipline and live up to the standards we establish. We look to you, the experts, to craft policies and SOPs that drive our success,” Jallah noted.
The executives announced that the revised policies and SOPs would be presented to the incoming LRA board for approval. Once endorsed, these policies will be implemented to enhance the effectiveness of LRA operations and improve revenue collection.
The three-day event concluded with participants recommending the reengineering of several policies, including staff rotation, staff secondment, asset disposal, work incentives, and staff professional ethics investigations—all aimed at enhancing transparency and accountability and propelling revenue collection.
