Arusha — A CALL has been made for East African nations to fully automate, synchronise, and digitalise their tax systems in order to eliminate revenue loss caused by graft and other loopholes.
This was a key discussion point among representatives from revenue authorities of East African Community (EAC) member states during a technical meeting held in Arusha.
The discussions took place under the East African Revenue Authorities Technical Committee on Integrity (EARATCI), where officials explored strategies to address corruption and strengthen revenue collection processes.
The meeting, themed "Enhancing Integrity through the Use of Technology and Data Analytics," focused on enforcing ethical conduct among customs and revenue officials across the region.
"We are sharing experiences, skills and methods of tackling graft and corruption," said Ndositwe Haonga, Director of Internal Affairs at the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA).
He emphasised the importance of automating processes to reduce human interaction between revenue officials and taxpayers, thus minimising opportunities for bribery.
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"Automation would significantly cut down on graft, as less direct contact between officials and taxpayers means fewer opportunities for corruption," Haonga noted.
Mr James Abola, Chairperson of EARATCI and representative of the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), stressed that the adoption of technology would not only combat fraud but also improve efficiency in revenue collection.
"It will completely eliminate the need for people to queue for tax-related services, as digital systems enable accurate tracking of payments and reduce human errors," said Abola.
Head of the Tax Investigations Department and Employee Integrity at the Zanzibar Revenue Authority (ZRA), Mr Khamis Ramadhan Khamis, highlighted the importance of these meetings for learning new techniques to combat fraud and corruption within tax administration.
The biannual EARATCI meetings bring together heads of customs and revenue departments from EAC member states, including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Zanzibar and South Sudan.
