Malawi tax body engages media

MRA manager and PR and taxpayer education officer Steve Kapoloma said they have realised that they were overspending due to lack of involvement of the media in their work.

"The cost of tax collection is higher when the bodies like MRA are not involving the media practitioners," he said.
Kapoloma also said many Malawians do not know what MRA is doing and they tend to be antagonistic with its officers.

Training sessions countrywide

The tax body has since arranged media training sessions that will be taking place in the country's three cities of Mzuzu, Lilongwe and Blantyre.

At the Mzuzu media training, journalists were taken through the activities of the tax collection body and new initiatives the body has put in place to ensure that it fulfils its obligations. They also trained in self-assessment and the turnover tax system of tax administration, tax payment through electronic banking, how to calculate duty.

Joy Radio journalist Winnie Botha said, "As media I think we have a duty to educate the people to help our tax collection body work as smoothly as possible since the money the body collects goes to government which is used for various socio-economic development projects," said Botha.