By Derrick Silimina
Government says domestic revenue mobilisation has become a fundamental input for development given the accelerated global technological advancements in the last two decades.
In a speech on behalf of Minister of Finance Situmbeko Musokotwane, Economic Management & Finance Permanent Secretary Danies Chisenda said the rapid pace of advancement has tended to leave many tax administrations behind, especially those in developing countries.
“Therefore, it is pleasing to see our tax authorities on the continent jumping on the wagon of embracing technology. In March this year, I had the privilege of launching zra’s electronic invoicing system, the smart invoice,” Dr Musokotwane said.
He notes that amidst challenges and crises grappling the African continent, its people are still hopeful in their governments’ ability to sustainably raise revenues to finance the national budgets adding that building resilient tax systems through leveraging technology is important.
The Finance Minister highlighted that the rapid pace of digitalisation offers both opportunities and challenges not only for domestic resource mobilisation, but for public administration systems in general.