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The Chief Administrator of Falaba District Council gave an emotional testimony before the Parliamentary Accounts Committee, describing a cycle of severe poverty that makes meaningful revenue collection in the district virtually impossible.
Responding to queries stemming from the 2023 Auditor‑General’s Report, which highlighted the council’s poor revenue performance, he painted a bleak picture of a populace too impoverished to pay taxes.
“How can we collect money from a hungry person whose child has no clothes?” the Administrator said, his voice heavy with frustration. He added, “How will you collect at least NLe 10 from a parent whose child stands stark naked and has nothing to eat?”
He identified the district’s lack of basic infrastructure as a key driver of the crisis. A “porous road network,” he explained, hampers council operations and drives residents to take their business elsewhere. “Because of the poor roads, the cost of generating funds often exceeds what can be collected,” he noted, revealing that revenue‑collection efforts frequently operate at a loss.
The exodus for basic services sees residents traveling to Kono District or crossing into neighboring Guinea, further eroding Falaba’s local economy.
The Administrator confirmed that the council received no rollover funds for the 2022 fiscal year in 2023, a persistent problem that has deepened the financial strain.
Hon. Aaron Aruna Koroma acknowledged the council’s dire situation and advised the Administrator to align revenue projections with the district’s harsh reality rather than pursuing unattainable targets. “I’m not sure any law obliges you to raise revenue beyond what you can realistically collect,” he said, encouraging the council to explore innovative revenue streams, particularly by targeting “businesses along the border” in cooperation with police, Paramount Chiefs, and Parliament.
The committee concluded by urging the Falaba Chief Administrator to continue his efforts, but his testimony left a haunting question in the chamber: How can a government collect revenue from a people who have nothing left to give?
