By Foday Moriba Conteh
In a bid to make the payment of property rates and licenses easy and affordable from their comfort zones using Orange Money effective 2022 for residents of Bo City, Orange Money on Monday 13th December 2021 sealed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Bo City Council during a well-attended ceremony held at De-wizard Conference Hall in Bo City, Southern Sierra Leone.
The MoU between Orange Money and the Bo City Council will enable residents of Bo to pay their property rates, licenses and other city rates to the Bo City Council using Orange Money.
In his address, the Deputy Mayor of the Bo City Council, David J.N Smart commended Orange Money for their tremendously work over the years particularly with regards breaking a new ground in Digital Financial Inclusion in the country.
He added that it is a very serious decision which the Bo City Council made to go into partnership with Orange Money, noting that they held various meetings before deciding who to sign a partnership with because other companies approached them with similar opportunities but said it was because of the confidence they entrust in Orange Money that is why they decided to sign the MoU with them.
David J.N Smart added that they chose Orange Sierra Leone over the other companies because of what Orange Sierra Leone has been doing in the country and that they also decided to go into the partnership with Orange Money in order to help the Council in its revenue mobilization further stating how he is of the strong conviction that with this partnership their set target in terms of revenue mobilization will be met.
The Deputy Mayor revealed that the partnership between the two institutions will serve as a foundation stone for them to go into further partnerships as it will benefit both parties. He further noted that they have been depending on banks and physical payments, but that with Orange Money, the burden on the people will be less in paying their taxes.
The Chief Administrator of the Bo City Council, Veronica Fortune, said it is a dream come true to partner with Orange Money, noting that they are anticipating huge returns and sustainability as their projection for 2022 is very high. She further said that with robust publicity, such is welcome news to the people of Bo.
She added that they expect Orange Money agents to always be up and running and assured that tax payers outside Bo City can now pay their taxes even if they are outside the city, adding that she looks forward to a formidable partnership and collaboration between the two institutions.
On his part, the Chief Executive Officer of Orange Money, David Mansaray said he is grateful to the Bo City Council for accepting to partner with them, noting that it is not new for Orange, because they have been partnering with other Councils.
He assured the Bo City Council that they have chosen the right path because the world is now moving towards digitalization, noting that they will help the Bo City Council in their revenue mobilization. He said the partnership will ease the burden on the tax payers and boost transparency. He thanked the Orange staff and the Bo City Council staffs for their efforts in actualizing their dream.
Closing the event was the official signing of the Memorandum of Understanding by the Chief Executive Officer of Orange Money, David Mansaray and the Deputy Mayor of the Bo City Council, David J.N Smart.
