By Robert Katuli

The Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) on Friday commemorated the International Customs Day in Lilongwe and presented awards to some of its partners.

Speaking at the event, MRA board chairperson, Vizenge Kumwenda said apart from celebrating the day, the Authority also took time to reflect on its overall agenda and responsibility, citing revenue collection and trade facilitation roles as examples.

“MRA took that responsibility seriously in the sense that it listened to what the stakeholders said and put in place a programme to make sure that MRA officers behave or conduct in a manner that best serves stakeholders,” Kumwenda said.

The programme, under the banner MRA4Change, involves MRA engaging its staff and other stakeholders in the development of policy, processes and procedures for operational excellence.

“I’m glad that this programme management has done very well. It’s an ongoing programme and will be a never-ending journey because improving service is a continuous process,” added Kumwenda.

Kumwenda also appealed to MRA officers never to be satisfied with their remarkable feat of meeting set revenue collection targets, saying government needs more resources to fund various social services needed in the country.

“They should not become complacent. There is a lot more they can do. If they work hard and be dedicated, patriotic and honest, they can actually collect much more than what they have collected.

“But they should do it in a manner that our tax payers don’t feel harassed but feel fairly treated. At the end of the day, our taxpayers feel obliged to pay the taxes willingly,” explained Kumwenda.

He also said customs will introduce drones, which will be used for surveillance purposes along the borders to eliminate smuggling.

An awardee at the function, Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS), hailed MRA for implementing the ASYCUDA WORLD, a system that is used for customs management and clearance and processes over 180,000 transactions annually.

In his remarks, MBS Deputy Director General, Thomas Senganimalunje who received an award on behalf of MBS, said the system enables MRA and MBS to work together.

“The implication is that all the products that are coming into the country are checked for tax purposes and at the same time checked for quality purposes,” said Senganimalunje.

Senganimalunje further said this has improved speed as, in the past, documents had to physically move from one office to another whereas, in the current system, information reaches MRA and MBS at the same time, thereby reducing clearance time.

This year, the day was celebrated under the theme ‘Customs Engaging Traditional and New Partners with Purpose’, and World Customs Organisation funded the MRA awards as part of the celebrations.