Sinokubonga Nkala
Business Writer
THE African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) has paid tribute to Zimbabwe’s Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, Professor Mthuli Ncube, for his contribution towards enhancing Domestic Resource Mobilisation (DRM) in the continent through his close collaboration with the regional tax advocacy agency.
Following the ATAF Exchange of Information Conference (EOI) held in October in Johannesburg, South Africa, this year, regional tax experts, policy makers and strategic partners made key pronouncements towards improving revenue generation to bolster Africa’s development.
One fundamental outcome from this conference was the call to African political leaders to support the implementation of EOI as a critical tool for DRM as opposed to compliance to international standards.
At the recent ATAF Annual General Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, executive secretary, Mr Logan Wort, applauded Prof Ncube’s contribution and urged other policy makers in the region to follow suit. Zimbabwe is a member of ATAF.
“We continue to express our sincere gratitude to the Hon Prof Mthuli Ncube, Minister of Finance and Investment Promotion for the Republic of Zimbabwe for his offer to champion this agenda among his peers on the continent.
“We call upon other African leaders to join this worthy course,” said Mr Wort.
Zimbabwe is one of the regional champions in embracing digital technology in taxation matters and a few weeks ago, Prof led the launch of the Electronic Tariff Tool (e-Tariff Tool), marking a significant advancement in the country’s efforts to enhance trade facilitation and improve the ease of doing business in Zimbabwe.
“The e-Tariff Tool will undoubtedly serve as a vital resource for traders, simplifying the complexities of tariff classification and duty estimation,” said Prof Ncube during the launch.
“This initiative is a remarkable step towards making our customs operations more efficient and user-friendly, ultimately benefiting the entire trading community.”
During the ATAF Indaba, Mr Wort noted that besides the digital transformation agenda and the domestic tax base expansion, this year ATAF embarked on a new journey of revamping effective use of exchange of information and promotion of tax transparency given its significance on the enhancement of DRM and for addressing illicit financial flows.
“To support our members on this critical transformation, we have been providing technical assistance on EOI including support on the development of automatic exchange of information IT system, support on the necessary legislative reforms for implementation of EOI and provision of the necessary toolkits such as the Toolkit on Joining ATAF Agreement on Mutual Assistance in Tax Matters (AMATM),” said Mr Wort.
The high-level meeting highlighted, among other things, that the African continent continues to be impacted by various challenges, including the debt crisis in many countries, the geopolitical conflicts and tensions, the changing political landscape and the climate and environmental considerations.
Delegates stressed the need to embrace technology and digital solutions in tax administration as central to enhancing domestic resource mobilisation capacities for African countries, which is necessary for financing development.
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