(JUBA) – The South Sudan Institute of Revenue Administration has launched a five day training-of-trainers programme on taxation in the oil, gas, extractive industries and hospitality sectors to strengthen the technical capacity of South Sudan Revenue Authority staff.
The training, running from 19th to 23rd October, brings together 50 participants from the revenue authority to improve their skills in tax assessment, administration and collection across the sectors .
SSIRA Principal Stephen Analo said the institute had developed policies, procedures and guidelines that were being tested to ensure they were functional before being presented for formal approval.
“We have put in place policies, procedures, and guidelines, which will be coming to your table for approval. But we said we have to test them. We have to prosecute them. We have to see they are working so that when we come to present them, we are presenting things that are working,” Analo said .
He said building the capacity of revenue officers and developing professional trainers were essential to strengthening the authority’s performance and ensuring effective tax administration.
Analo said SSIRA had planned between 10 and 12 training-of-trainers programmes from October to December, with support from the African Development Bank.
The initiative will bring in experts from East African countries and the East African Community to provide specialised training, he said.
“We have lined up 10 to 12 training-of-trainers programs between now and December. And with the support of the African Development Bank, we are bringing in experts from all the East African countries and from the East African Community itself,” he said .
The series of programmes is expected to train more than 200 participants by around 12th December 2026, according to Analo.
SSRA Commissioner General Rizig Dominic Samuel described SSIRA as a key institution in developing the professional capacity required to improve the authority’s performance.
“I see this institution not merely as a place where officers come for training, but as the engine for building the professional capacity of the authority. I am committed to supporting SSIRA and fulfilling this mandate,” Dominic said .
He said the institute’s impact should be reflected in improved tax compliance, better taxpayer services and stronger revenue performance.
Dominic stressed the importance of specialised knowledge in administering taxes in the oil, gas and extractive industries, noting that these sectors require stronger assessment capabilities and effective oversight to ensure that all revenue legally due to the country is properly accounted for.
The commissioner general also used the occasion to warn staff over conduct in the hospitality sector, saying reports of revenue officials living in hotels at government expense were unacceptable.
“I heard all the staff working in hospitality. They are the people who are sleeping in hotels here in Juba. They are the ones sleeping in hotels. The taxes that the hotels were to pay have been paid to them to live a happy life from the government shares. I hope you will address this thing, because soon I’m going to fight them,” Dominic said .
“This reflection of opulence and an expensive lifestyle, living in a big VIP room, hotels, on a government account, is unacceptable. That’s unacceptable. And if they are there, let them start changing before we come for you. And even if you are clever and you want to take money from the government shares, you don’t have to show it in our faces. At least hide it” .
The African Development Bank has been supporting South Sudan’s revenue reforms through the Non-Oil Revenue Mobilization and Accountability project, known as NORMA-SS. The project includes financing for institutional capacity building, training and a tax administration diagnostic assessmen.
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