SRA CALLS FOR SUPPORT FROM POLICYMAKERS

MBABANE – After being ‘roasted’ by legislators last week, Eswatini Revenue Authority (SRA) has said it needed guidance and support from policymakers.

During a workshop for senators and Cabinet ministers held at the Happy Valley Hotel last Wednesday, the parastatal received strong criticism on how it conducted its duties. One of the issues raised was that SRA taxed people to the bone and did so until they died as it also demanded a share from pensions. The legislators said they did not understand why their sitting allowances, which are E350 per sitting, were taxed. Furthermore, the legislators said the existing tax laws had led to a situation where emaSwati found themselves having to think twice before they considered opening businesses. The parastatal has come out to state that it was but an administrator of policy.

Mandate

Interviewed on Friday, SRA Manager Customer Service Riccardo Kruger said the mandate of the parastatal was to administer the country’s tax laws as well as provide expert advice to government with respect to issues of taxation. “The SRA does not promulgate any law, neither does it have any powers to change any aspect of the law. The SRA, in essence, is incomplete without the support and guidance of policy makers as the country’s legislators,” he said. Explaining further, he mentioned that all legislation were primarily for purposes of guiding and maintaining order in the country’s social, political and economic environment. He said it was for that purpose that all legislation had to be thoroughly interrogated and debated prior to being endorsed as law as the final product becomes critical for the development of the country.

“Furthermore it is critical that there is clear segregation of duty among the various role players to mitigate any conflict of interest as well as to ensure optimal accountability. For example, the ultimate administrators of any law would participate less during the development phases, often only providing technical advice, and it would be legislators who would take the lead in crafting the law and ensuring that the resultant law will be as effective as possible. It is therefore very important that there is harmony and cooperation among the various role players,” he said. Following that there was not enough time, the legislators were informed that they would get another opportunity of meeting the parastatal for further engagement.

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