The Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) has urged journalists in the Northern Region and across the country to help sensitize the public on the importance of tax stamps as a strategy to address smuggling, a major hurdle in tax collection.

MRA’s Stakeholder Engagement Officer, Dorothy Mataya, made the call on Tuesday at Sunbird Mzuzu Hotel during a one-day media training on tax-related issues organized by the authority.

According to Mataya, the authority decided to engage journalists because the country’s borders are vast and porous in terms of security.

“We are in great need of the media to help inform the public about passing through official borders, how that will help in the country’s development, and to refrain from assisting smugglers,” she said.

 

Apart from utilizing the press, Mataya said the authority has also implemented other alternatives to help patrol all border lines.

“We have also introduced other measures such as the tax stamp project, or ‘Kalondola,’ and the use of drones which will help in patrolling all border lines to monitor smugglers,” she added.

However, Mataya noted that in terms of domestic taxation, the country is doing well as compliance has improved, and people are witnessing the importance of paying taxes.

 

One of the journalists who attended the training, Samuel Kalimira of Times Group, expressed satisfaction with the event.

“We are very happy. Issues of taxes or MRA are often difficult to understand, but now we’ve been equipped with knowledge on how best to tackle these topics,” he said.

MRA is optimistic about hitting a target of not less than 3.26 trillion Malawi kwacha this year.