To avoid a repeat of the situation at the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority, Dorbor proposed the establishment of a maintenance and upgrade fund from a small portion of fisheries’ revenue at NAFAA.
Monrovia – The Commissioner General of the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), Dorbor Jallah, has raised an alarm over the ineffectiveness of multiple technical support systems setup by international partners at various institutions in the three branches of the Government of Liberia (GOL).
By Obediah Johnson, [email protected]
According to him, most of the systems developed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the World Bank and others, are not operational.
Dorbor named the Judiciary and National Legislature as two main branches of the Government Liberia (GoL) where systems developed and set up by the country’s international partners are not effective and efficient.
He raised the alarm when he launched the Fisheries Information Management System (FIMS) digital platform at the headquarters of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NAFAA) on Bushrod Island over the weekend.
“This is to mitigate experiences that Liberia has had from similar systems that have been developed. I still remember and one classical one I like to cite is that, the UNDP and other partners have worked with our judicial system and they implored technologies to help with the management of the court system. Unfortunately, that system didn’t even kick off. I could go ahead naming system upon system.”
Dorbor pointed out that other partners have also worked with the Government of Liberia and deployed various systems at the National Legislature to promote transparency and accountability, and efficiency in the operations of the first branch of the Liberian government.
But to date he observed that “those systems don’t work today; in fact, they don’t even exist.”
He added that though many countries or investments are now concentrating on investing in IT Solutions or systems to enhance productivity, efficiency and effectiveness, payments to sustain those systems remain a challenge.
To avoid a repeat of the situation at the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority, Dorbor proposed the establishment of a maintenance and upgrade fund from a small portion of fisheries’ revenue at NAFAA.
He stressed that this fund would help sustain financing and ensure that the new system remains operational and vibrant.
“We hope we can prevent that (situation of not sustaining systems). All we need to do-these systems have to be maintained regularly. So, NAFAA can purposefully set aside some of the revenue to be generated or a small portion can be set aside exclusively to ensure the continuous running of the system. , ”
He encouraged NAFAA to also put in place a data-driven policy.
Dorbor stressed that the system must be used to analyze and drive out other policies to govern and manage the sector.
He said regional cooperation must also be encouraged to share relevant data with regional fisheries to curb trans-boundary illegal fishing, adding that, “collaboration with our neighboring countries is really very important.”
He observed that this will not only enhance Liberia’s regional integration, but it will address the issue of illegal fishing across the country’s border points.
Dorbor challenged the agency to ensure that it creates avenues to provide job opportunities for Liberians, improve trade and national wealth, instead of only managing and regulating the fisheries sector through the issuance of licenses and fees for the registration of vessels and local fishermen.
He stressed that NAFAA must ensure that the new FIMS must allow Liberia to protect its resources, grow its revenues, build investors’ confidence, strengthen transparency, align with Liberia’s commitment to other international fisheries agreements and support the country’s development agenda.
The new Fisheries Information Management System was launched by the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NAFAA) in collaboration with the World Bank, and other partners, under the Liberian Sustainable Fisheries Management Project (LSFMP) at a brief ceremony held at the headquarters of NAFAA on the Bushrod Island over the weekend.
It puts into place a digital processing of permits, licenses, and certificates, carry out real-time data tracking for informed decision making, and secures online payments to reduce revenue leakages in the sector.
The FIMS also streamlines administrative processes and enhances efficiency and puts an end to the unnecessary delays caused by manual applications by ensuring real-time monitoring of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in the country.
The new digital platform also enhances access to permits and licenses and reduces travel costs and waiting times of vessel owners and local fishermen in getting their licenses and various certificates from NAFAA.
