A new postal address system to optimize waste collection and boost tax revenues in the Gambia

A defective postal address system can have major repercussions on the well-being of communities, and particularly on public service provision.

In Kanifing, the rate of compliance with property tax is less than 24%, partly due to a tax collection system that relies on inaccurate address data, which prevents process monitoring and improvement. While there has been an increase in tax compliance among commercial property owners, rates remain stable or are falling for residential properties in the region, and many properties are not registered or have been undervalued.

To improve the waste collection service, Kanifing Municipal Council launched the “Mbalit” program in 2019, deploying new collection trucks for this purpose. Although this program has been touted as a major economic and social improvement, many households still do not have access to the waste collection service. A one-month trial comparing the old address system with the Google system revealed that only a quarter of properties were receiving regular collections.

As a result of this lack of monitoring and proper management of waste collection routes, certain neighborhoods, particularly in the district’s poorest communities, have been completely excluded from this service. This sub-optimal management of the waste collection service is having a social and environmental impact, with residents resorting to uncontrolled dumping and burning of waste to replace these collection services, which promotes the spread of disease (Giusti, 2009) and increases air pollution, deemed the second leading risk factor for death and disability in the Gambia (GBD, 2019).

This project involves using Plus Codes open-source technology, which offers a comprehensive postal address system based on the latitude and longitude coordinates of real estate, to achieve three aims:

1. Develop a new property tax monitoring system, by creating maps showing property tax non-compliance, for each neighborhood, so that targeted legal actions (visits by tax officials, sending of letters, and issuance of fines) can be implemented.
2. Improve monitoring of the Mbalit waste collection program, by installing GPS devices on garbage trucks, in order to obtain more reliable and traceable data on collection routes, and identify under-served neighborhoods, so that routes can be modified.
3. Trial an incentive scheme to promote tax compliance, where vouchers for free waste collection will be distributed, and issued to individuals who are not paying their taxes, along with their tax notice and a leaflet highlighting why paying tax plays an important role in improving public service capacity.

The aim of this project is to strengthen the social contract by ensuring marginalized communities are given access to public waste collection services, through citizens’ tax contributions and compliance with the tax payment system.

At the same time, using Plus Codes should make it easier for public authorities to identify households that are struggling.

Photo : ©Kurt Cotoaga