Finance Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube yesterday signed Africa Development Bank (AfDB) US$ 10 million grant protocol agreement for Tax and Accountability Development Project to support Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA), Parliament and also the Auditor General.
The grant, in the three institutions, will be used to support in tax and revenue management systems modernisation (US$ 8.1 million), improving the capacity of the oversight function in Parliament and external audit (US$2,9 million) and also project management including monitoring and evaluation activities (US$0,6 million).
“The project is expected to strengthen the transparency and accountability oversight mandate to the 3 institutions in line with the Transitional Stabilisation Program (TSP), which prioritises fiscal consolidation, economic stabilisation and inclusive growth as well as employment creation,” Ncube said.
“It is also consistent with the (AfDB) bank’s 10-year strategy 2013 – 2022 which aims to place the bank at the centre of Africa’s transformation.”
Acting Cleck of Parliament, Helen Dingane said the grant program will assist institutionalise the training a capacity building within the parliament.
“It is within this program that we will be furthering what is in our current institutional strategic plan for 2018-2023,” she said.
“We are happy that we have a number of committees who will be beneficiaries of this program.”
The program will also support advocacy groups within the parliament including African Parliamentarians Network Against Corruption (APNAC) and Zimbabwe Women Parliamentary Cocus.
Acting Auditor-General Ms R Kujinga said the Auditor General’s (AG) office is committed to implementing the project.
The grant will cover technical assistance to develop capability and forensic according to Kujinga.
“The new grant will go a long way in strengthening the organisational effectiveness of the AG and ultimately achieve its mission of improving transparency, accountability and good governance as it will cover training professional development of various professional courses,” she said.
AG office will be used for extractive industries audits and also the procurement of tools of the trade.
ZIMRA Commissioner-General Faith Mazani said the project will improve self-service and voluntary compliance by providing an efficient and effective platform to address current constraints.
“This funding has come at a time our country is facing foreign currency challenges, and I want to promise AfDB that this financial assistance will not be put to waste, but will be well managed and accounted for well and transparently,” Mazani said
“This support resonates with our focus to enhance Domestic Resource Mobilisation for sustainable economic development. And with this support, AfDB has given us not fish but a rod to do our own fishing.”