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AEGIS European Conference on African Studies
11 - 14 July 2007
African Studies Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Serving the Customer? Governance Implications of the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA)
| Panel |
16. New ways of managing public administrations in Africa ?
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| Paper ID | 473 |
| Author(s) |
Soest, Christian Von
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| Paper |
No paper submitted
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| Abstract | Sub-Saharan Africa has seen a proliferation of semi-autonomous revenue authorities in recent years. Taking the collection of state revenue out of the core state structure and organising it along business lines is meant to raise domestic revenues, a state function which is chronically weak in Africa. However, the governance implications of these heavily donor-supported reform projects remain an open question.
The proposed paper aims at filling this gap and takes the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA), established in 1994, as a case study. It presents results from over 75 interviews conducted in Zambia. In addition, primary sources such as the tax administration’s annual reports and budget speeches were systematically analysed.
The ZRA closely follows the paradigm of New Public Management, which applies business principles to the public administration. Principally, the revenue authority has indeed improved revenue performance amidst an unfavourable administrative environment. Yet, the relationship between the revenue authority and its “customers”, the taxpayers, has remained defective on the overall:
1) The ZRA has pursued a tough stance against bribery and kickbacks. This has served to provide more equal treatment to Zambian taxpayers. However, the common perception is that corrupt activities of ZRA officials have increased in recent years. It seems impossible to insulate the revenue authority from a neopatrimonial environment in the long run.
2) A special Revenue Appeals Tribunal was installed to protect the rights of Zambian taxpayers. This Tribunal functions as a mechanism of last resort with only limited relevance to the day-to-day interaction between taxpayers and the ZRA. The biggest issue for formal businesses have been the aggressive enforcement strategies applied by tax officials on the ground. Frequent tax audits give evidence to a relationship of mistrust and are widely perceived as harassment.
3) The ZRA Advice Centre, which was opened in 2000, serves as the “one-stop shop” for the interaction between taxpayers and the revenue authority. The authority’s homepage and leaflets as well as participation in public radio programmes are further means of disseminating information. Yet, these services remain largely confined to businesses in the formal sector and to Zambia’s capital Lusaka.
On balance, strengthened revenue collected is largely due to force and not to a better treatment of taxpayers. The paper will attempt to explain the political mechanisms which cause the low governance effects of the semi-autonomous ZRA. Because of these mechanisms it is a long way until Zambian taxpayers will be treated as customers.
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