ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF ICT ON REVENUE COLLECTION ON THE SIERRA LEONE ECONOMY (A CASE STUDY OF THE NATIONAL REVENUE AUTHORITY)

ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF ICT ON REVENUE COLLECTION ON THE SIERRA LEONE ECONOMY (A CASE STUDY OF THE NATIONAL REVENUE AUTHORITY)

CHAPTER ONE

1.1  Background To The Study

Many Developing countries have seen the need for the adoption of ICT and the planned implementation of national ICT strategy as a significant component in the success of ICT efforts to foster rapid national development through greater productivity. The term ICT refers to Information and communication technology which consist of   electronic technologies which facilitate access to information such as the Internet, wireless networks, and cellular phones (WEF, 2012).

The effective adoptions of ICT enable the governments to propel rapid productivity gains through different economic sectors in the nation. The government now view Information and communication technologies as a strategy to enhance rapid national development through ICT-driven productivity gains (Masanet & Matthews, 2010).Consequently the coordinated effort of government is required in this direction to adopt and implement a more robust and integrated ICT platform for an effective system of service delivery. (IDB, 2009).  It is important to note that sirrea-lone requires an integrated ICT agenda to sustain its national developmental expectations (WEF, 2012). The benefit of ICT adoption permeates public sector workplace productivity (Masanet & Matthews, 2010).  Public sector workplace productivity therefore impacts on business efficiencies resulting in resource efficiency, enhanced customer interface and revenue collection, cost control mechanisms, energy savings, and reducing negative environmental effects through using ICT applications (Masanet & Matthews, 2010).Borisov and Barbulescu (2012) postulated the adoption of  the term electronic government which he stated consist of   ICT tools and systems which is       used to access and efficiently deliver public services to all stakeholders .  (Bannister & Wilson, 2011).The adoption of ICT has facilitated easy access and interaction between government and its citizens .Also the development of mobile technologies, new web browsers, social media applications and sites, has provided the government with new tools to enhance the needs of e-government, which facilitate the development of an efficient system to manage public services geared at improving public’s confidence in government services (Borisov & Barbulescu, 2012).

1.2  Statement of the Problem

The need for the adoption of ICT and the planned implementation of national ICT strategy as a significant component in the success of ICT efforts to foster rapid national development through greater productivity in revenue collection cannot be over emphasized. Borisov and Barbulescu (2012) postulated the adoption of  the term electronic government which he stated consist of   ICT tools and systems which is       used to access and efficiently deliver public services to all stakeholders .  (Bannister & Wilson, 2011).The adoption of ICT has facilitated easy access and interaction between government and its citizens .Also the development of mobile technologies, new web browsers, social media applications and sites, has provided the government with new tools to enhance the needs of e-government, which facilitate the development of an efficient system to manage public services of collecting revenues geared at improving public’s confidence in government services. Consequently the coordinated effort of government is required in this direction to adopt and implement a robust and integrated ICT platform for an effective system of service delivery. (IDB, 2009).  It is important to note that  sirrea- lone requires an integrated ICT agenda to sustain its national developmental expectations (WEF, 2012).Consequently the problem confronting the research is to determine  the impact of ICT on revenue collection on the sierra Leone economy (A case study of the National Revenue Authority).

ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF ICT ON REVENUE COLLECTION ON THE SIERRA LEONE ECONOMY (A CASE STUDY OF THE NATIONAL REVENUE AUTHORITY)