By Loness Gwazanga

Blantyre, May 24, Mana: Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) and Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) have signed an agreement aimed at sharing intelligence on tax crimes such as tax evasion, fraud in order to curb corruption in the country.

MRA Commissioner General John Bizwick told members of the press during the official signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Tuesday in Blantyre that this will strengthen detection and improve service delivery in tax revenue collection.

He said in the past years, MRA had referred several cases to ACB where members of staff were suspected of being involved in corruption, a thing he described as a clear indication that the Authority is serious in ending corruption.

”This signing is not only an excellent example of the strength and cooperation between our two institutions, but it is also a clear indicator that our institutions are committed to enter into the partnership for the greater good of our nation,” said Bizwick.

He further said; “There is a misconception that the fight against corruption is exclusively for the ACB alone while we all stand aside as spectators. I would like to take this opportunity to dispel this deep rooted misconception and assure the ACB that they should look at MRA as a true partner committed to the fight against corruption”.

In her remarks, ACB Director General Martha Chizuma said the MOU had come at the right time as corruption remains one of the key obstacles to the socio-economic development of the country.

Chizuma then called for collective efforts in fighting corruption so that everyone understands how evil the malpractice is in the development of the country.

“Without concerted efforts to address corruption, resources contained in the national budget year in and year out; revenue collected by the MRA and any other resources meant for the up lifting of lives and accelerating economic development would not achieve the desired results,” said Chizuma.

Among others, the MoU will see the two parties remain independent while sharing resources and jointly making plans of activities at the beginning at each year.

The open ended deal can only be terminated at any time by either party upon giving the other party three months’ prior notice in writing.

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