Utilise Zimra hotline to report corruption

Published: 19 July 2017

The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) is doing well in discharging its constitutional obligation of collecting taxes for the State under very difficult circumstances.

It is not easy to enforce tax compliance in the obtaining economic challenges. We happily note improvements in a few industries - agriculture, the retail sector, cooking oil processing, gold and platinum mining - but there is no denying that the economy is in general not performing well enough. Some businesses are happy to be able to defend their bottom lines with not much growth.

Government policies such as Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016 that has done wonders pushing industrial capacity utilisation to 47,4 percent in the past few months from 34,3 percent last year are informed by an understanding that the economy isn't performing to its full potential. There is also the agenda to improve the ease of doing business, the proposal to establish special economic zones and efforts to re-engage multi-lateral financial institutions.

The challenges that the foregoing interventions are designed to address have not prevented Zimra from meeting its revenue collection targets, even exceeding them like the authority did in the first half of this year. From January to June, Zimra raised 2,72 percent more revenue than its target, board chairperson, Mrs Willia Bonyongwe said last week. That performance, she added, puts her organisation in a good position to collect up to $6 billion by the end of this year.

But another point that caught public attention in Mrs Bonyongwe's latest revenue collection update issued on Thursday last week, was Zimra working to fight corruption within its ranks and externally.

The authority suspended 21 officials on corruption allegations and recovered $120 million through its anti-graft activities. This is a big sum of money that would have been lost to the State. This is so in view of the fact that the civil service wage bill is around $190 million per month. Therefore, the $120 million recovered from those who unsuccessfully tried to evade paying tax is almost enough to pay civil servants for a month.

"Corruption remains a challenge but Zimra's resolve to combat it is strong. The anti-corruption hotline received 394 reports. Of these 218 were fully investigated while the remaining cases are still under different investigations," she said.

"The investigations yielded about $120 million in assessments, 21 suspensions resulting in three officers who were dismissed as a result of those reports. Some officials are still undergoing disciplinary hearings. Quite often people feel helpless to act against corruption because it is now endemic, but this case proves individuals can make a difference. Fighting corruption begins with me and begins with you and together we can make an impact."

Zimra needs to intensify its anti-corruption activities and speedily finalise investigations into the 18 reported cases that were outstanding by the end of last month. The sanctions should not end with dismissal of corrupt elements. Criminal charges should be instituted as well, along with recovery of monies that would have been looted.

Commenting on the resignation of former Commissioner General, Mr Gesherm Pasi who was on suspension since early last year after a car import scam that benefited top Zimra officials, Mrs Bonyongwe indicated that criminal charges can be preferred on those suspected to be corrupt.

"In terms of what action the board will take against (Mr Pasi), the answer is nothing apart from the normal termination procedure. But that is not to say the charges will be ignored. — Both the board and Ministry of Finance and Economic Development are in agreement that the charges which are of a criminal nature will not be washed away. Any charges relating to corruption, abuse of office or anything of a criminal nature will be pursued through the relevant state authorities."

We look forward to the moment when the punishment on the corrupt is taken to a new level.

The fact that Zimra received, through its hotline, 394 reports of possible underhand dealings of which 218 were investigated yielding $120 million and 21 employee suspensions is enough evidence of the fruits of the collaboration between the authority and its publics. It also is evidence of the success of the hotline as a platform to receive information on corruption and fight it.

The public is encouraged to continue using the hotline for more people and institutions who are engaging in corruption to be accounted for and corrective action taken.
- zimpapers

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