Are Councils’ Operations affected by GRA takeover of Revenue Collection?

By Saikou Suwareh Jabai Foroyaa has been receiving reports that the decision of the government transferring the responsibility of collecting council revenues to the Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) since 1 March 2015 is affecting theoperations of municipal and area councils throughout the country. According to the complaints, this new development has resulted in salary arrears for council workers, lack of fuel for cleansing or garbage collection services, among other difficulties. In order to establish the veracity or otherwise of these claims, Foroyaa has been making several attempts to contact council spokespersons to get their version but without success. When Mr. Sandigie Njie, the Public Relation Officer (PRO) of Banjul City Council (BCC), was approached on the issue, and he told this reporter that he was occupied but promised to call whenever he is ready to discuss the matters concerning the council with the media. Mrs. Fatoumatta Sillah, the PRO of the Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC), who earlier said she was busy, asked this reporter to go to her office yesterday. However, the interview could not materialise as the reporter waited for her until closing time. An earlier attempt to have an interview on the issue with the PRO of the Brikama Area Council (BAC) was also unsuccessful as he declined to comment on it. However, comments are being made on a daily basis concerning the implications of the decision on the services that are supposed to be rendered by the councils to their respective communities under their jurisdiction.]]>