Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) Commissioner General Dingani Banda says the authority has set a revenue collection target of K185 billion for this year.
Mr Banda says achieving the target requires effective tax administration and cooperation among taxpayers, government, businesses and other stakeholders.
He said this in a speech read on his behalf by Acting Director of Executive Support Laban Simbeye during the opening of a two-day ZRA media training for Lusaka Province at Legacy Resort in Chongwe District.
Mr Banda said the training had three objectives, the first being to strengthen the media’s ability to interpret financial and economic information and report accurately on taxation and business.
He said the second objective was to deepen journalists’ understanding of ZRA’s mandate, operations, tax administration procedures and emerging developments.
The third objective, he added, was to support informed scrutiny of the relationship between tax policy, business performance, the Grow Zambia Agenda and domestic resource mobilisation.
Mr Banda noted that domestic revenue enabled the government to finance education, healthcare, roads and other essential public services.
He said the media was an important partner in public education, helping to promote transparency, strengthen accountability and enable citizens to understand taxation matters affecting them.
“This workshop is timely as Zambia advances the Grow Zambia Agenda, with emphasis on expanding production, investment, exports and employment, and these ambitions give business journalists an important task to examine how national priorities translate into opportunities and results for firms, workers and households,” Mr Banda said.
He urged journalists to ensure they obtained accurate information to better inform the public.
Mr Banda explained that the Ministry of Finance and National Planning leads revenue policy, while ZRA administers the tax laws and contributes to operational evidence to reform.”
He further urged journalists to help audiences understand these responsibilities by distinguishing policy proposals from measures enacted into law.
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