By Sariba Manneh
Chief Superintendent Karalang Jarju, Officer in Charge of Finance at The Gambia Immigration Department (GID) on Thursday announced that they collected Two Hundred and Twelve Million, Four Hundred and Fifty-Four Thousand Dalasi (D212, 454,000) in 2023.
In 2022, they collected one hundred and four million Dalasi (D104,000,000). The recent announcement, according to the Chief Superintendent, is an indication of the Department’s readiness to contribute to the revenue mobilisation of the country.
“GID was not only a key security of the government, but a security provider and revenue-generating outfit,” Karalang Jarju said.
He stated that the projected revenue for 2023 was One Hundred and Fifty-Million Dalasi (D150,000,000), but they went beyond that target.
“No amount was retained by the Department, the entire amounts were paid into the Consolidated Fund during the period under review,” he added.
He said the achievement is due to the increase in the number of people accessing immigration services. He added that another contributing factor was the financial monitoring system in place leading to the blockage of revenue leakages and further ensuring that all monies collected at the various revenue collection points were paid into the various designated accounts.
Jarju highlighted that the measures deployed by the Enforcement Unit of the GID, and the introduction of new fees during the first quarter of the year, all contributed to their achievement.
He mentioned that most of the revenue was realised as a result of the use of Machine Readable Passport (MRP), Residential Permit B ECOWAS and Biometric Passport.
“The above developments show that the Gambia Immigration Department has made tremendous progress concerning revenue collection and work around the clock to ensure that a positive trend is carried over to the next year,” he said.
They have now projected to collect at least One Hundred and Seventy Million Dalasi (D170, 000,000) by the end of 2024.
“Despite the economic challenges that the country is experiencing, The Gambia Immigration Department will work around the clock to ensure that this positive trend is carried over to next year, with more revenue measures being put in place. These measures include strengthening operational efficiencies, improvement and modernization of systems, opening more Issuing Centres and building and opening more new stations, and provision of mobility,” he said.
