THE Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) is set to embark on a lifestyle audit of its staffers, amid revelations that the government was losing millions of dollars through corruption.
BY TATIRA ZWINOIRA
This comes as a forensic audit confirmed the existence of endemic corruption in Zimra, with the board now more resolved to eradicate it.
In a statement accompanying Zimra’s third quarter report for 2016, board chairperson, Willia Bonyongwe said corruption by the authority’s workers was costing the government money and lifestyle audits would be carried out to flush out corrupt staffers.
“The authority embarked on extensive lifestyle audits on selected individuals in an effort to evaluate their compliance. Debt follow-ups are being vigorously pursued. During the next quarter, lifestyle audits will be focused on Zimra officers. Corruption by Zimra officers is costing government a lot of money and it is expected that regular staff audits and other measures to combat corruption will see this revenue head and others improving, other things remaining equal,” she said.
“But it takes two to tango and the public is also expected not to entice officers into corrupt activities. Many, who have cut deals with Zimra officers, have had to pay the authority what they were supposed to pay then, plus penalties and interest.”
Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa’s mid-term fiscal policy review said revenue leakages at the country’s border posts remained a major challenge, depriving the country of the much needed revenue.
Coincidentally, Zimra missed many targets on customs duty.
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In its third quarter report, Zimra collected $157,98 million from a target of $192,33m from excise duty.
For gross customs duty, Zimra collected $64,31m from a target of $94m.
On net customs duty, $64,1m was realised from a target of $94m.
Bonyongwe said while the economy was considered resilient, it could no longer withstand the current levels of corruption.
“The board has an absolute zero tolerance on corruption and this message has been relayed to all officers,” she said.
According to the mid-term fiscal review, some of the methods being deployed in corruption include fake documents, tampering with scanners by some security personnel in order to facilitate false declarations, and connivance between Zimra officials and touts.
The connivance is to allow entry of goods without payment of the requisite duty levels and false declaration of cargo as being in transit to other countries, but ending up being sold in Zimbabwe.
Zimra said the country was losing $1 billion to smuggled goods, which could be potential revenue channelled through the formal system.
It said its anti-corruption hotline had unearthed several cases of corruption that yielded potential revenue of more than $23m.
The Corruption Perceptions Index has ranked Zimbabwe number 150 out of 168 countries.
