TRA's ethics committee to curb staff unbecoming behaviours
Correspondent ERNEST AMBALI
Daily News; Thursday,November 02, 2006 @00:03
FINANCE Minister Zakia Meghji
TEN years after it started operating in July 1996, the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) is now counted as among top institutions, which are making relentless efforts to fight corruption to collect more revenue.
THE Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) is fighting corruption among its staff by among other things, ensuring that before they are fully employed declaration of their personal assets is an imperative requirement and then they undergo a probation period of one year. However, it is possible some undeserving people manage to go through.
And, as an employee continues in service, their behaviour are monitored through an established procedure for receiving allegations against them.
The procedure includes a mechanism for 'whistle blowing' - systems under which informers alert the Authority about alleged corrupt staff.
Records of unbecoming behaviour of some of the staff are maintained by the Ethics Committee under the present chairperson, Deputy Commissioner General Placidus J. Luoga, who is assisted by four departmental heads as committee members.
According to Mr Luoga, the committee was established on end May, 2003 at the TRA headquarters. Before the establishment of the TRA there was no formal, comprehensive framework for managing ethics and integrity of staff in the tax administration.
When the TRA started operating in July 1996, initial integrity framework was developed. Before the TRA was formed, staff integrity was managed by the then Tax Audit and Investigation Department and later on by the Internal Audit Department, says Mr Luoga.
This was then followed by adoption of the first TRA's Anti-corruption Strategy of 1999 and incorporation of the TRA's Strategy into the National Anti-Corruption Strategy and Action Plan (NACSAP) in the year 2001.
In May 2003, the Authority decided to enhance management of ethics and integrity by forming the Management Ethics Committee to oversee staff integrity matters in the Authority.
"Precisely, on May 2, 2003 the TRA management decided to establish the Management Ethics Committee at the TRA headquarters with effect from June 1, 2003.
"Since its establishment in June 2003, the committee had convened a total of 32 meetings by July 31, 2006," Mr Luoga says.
Terms of reference given to the Ethics Committee include but not limited to establishing and monitoring procedures for receiving allegations, including setting a mechanism for 'whistle blowing'.
Also included in the long list of inputs in the terms of reference, is the reviewing of allegations and encun. Course of action to be taken against the allegations raised.
This means identifying the various types of allegations, as for example, allegations on corruption, which require external enquiry by the Preventions of Corruption Bureau (PCB) Police Force or other external agencies.
Allegations on tax evasion to be referred to the Tax Investigation Department to investigate internal fraud allegations to be referred to the Internal Audit Department.
Allegations, which do not necessarily require any specialised investigation, hence suggesting administrative action or follow-up to be made by respective heads of department or regional mangers.
Allegations which may be considered by the committee as baseless. The Ethics Committee is charged with the responsibility of receiving and evaluating the results of the investigations carried out against the staff.
The other responsibility is evaluating the adequacy of the measures in place to combat corruption and recommending the management on further measures.
The list of terms of reference also includes reviewing the monthly reports received from the heads of department and regional managers on the implementation of NACSAP and reviewing the Quarterly Strategic Management and Good Governance Report before it is submitted to the government.
Also added to these, the Ethics Committee is required to perform any other duties related to staff integrity as delegated by the management.
"In August 2004, Regional Ethics Committees were established in every up-country region, at the Institute of Tax Administration, Dar es Salaam and TRA Zanzibar.
"All committee chairpersons underwent special training on good governance and control of self-assessment. The Good Governance Co-ordinating Unit (GGCU) and the PCB were among key resource persons to the training," says Mr Luoga.
The government issued a directive in September 2005, requiring all MDAS and local councils to form integrity committees by December 30, 2005. It was expected that by then, the Authority would have established, already, its ethics committees at the headquarters and in every up-country regions.
The TRA management then decided to go further down to establish ethics committees at district level and in each of the newly-formed Dar es Salaam tax regions.
Mr Luoga said that the TRA management had devised an effective mechanism to ensure that the committees perform their role according to the terms of reference they were given.
First, the chairman of the Management Ethics Committee is required to submit to the commissioner general, quarterly reports on the committee's affairs for onward submission to the standing committee of the board of directors.
Secondly, the chairman of regional ethics committees and of Zanzibar and Institute of Tax Administration Ethics committees are required to submit to the chairman of the Management Ethics Committee at TRA headquarters, quarterly reports on the committee affairs on implementing the terms of reference given to them.
Thirdly, chairman of district ethics committees are required to submit to chairman of the respective regional ethics committees, quarterly reports on the committees' affairs on the implementation of the terms of reference given to them.
Fourthly, all heads of department should perform I-annual operational reviews in the every regions to assess progress of implementation of the various management policies including effectiveness of ethics committees in the regions.
Lastly the director for Internal Audit should perform regular reviews effectiveness of managerial controls in the regions, which include management of ethics, and integrity in the work stations.
On what he termed as punitive measure, Mr Luoga says all members of staff taken over by the TRA from the defunct tax administration on July 1, 1996 were placed under a one-year probation period to measure their performance and behaviour.
"At the end of that period 239 employees were not confirmed in their new employment," he says.
These unfortunate new employees were not confirmed because of two main reasons. Firstly they could not meet the performance standards of the TRA and secondly of their unbecoming behaviours.
In the second punitive measure, the Authority has established and is implementing a code of conduct, which provides specific penalties for violating it. The management has continually
taken action against the culprits.
"As a result of the measures taken by the Authority since its establishment, we are proud to state that the level of staff integrity has recorded an improved and satisfactory performance," Mr Luoga says.
These staff control measures employed during the first 10 years of the TRA have led to seven achievements.
These are enhanced commitment by senior management to effectively manage ethics and integrity; transparency in handling and resolving staff integrity matters has been enhanced.
Awareness on integrity management has been increased throughout the Authority, from the headquarters down to district level.
TRA policy on corruption had been and shall continue to be 'zero tolerance' concentrations has been given to proactive and holistic approaches.
Ethics awareness among the staff had been enhanced, whicle detective investigative strategies have been developed and implemented to address internal fraud and tax evasion.
The code of conduct has been effectively enforced. The management continues working on a few remaining staff with unbecoming behaviour to ensure that the core values stipulated in the Second Corporate Plan for 2003/04-2007/08 are sustained to build the TRA's corporate culture.
"It is not possible to state that the Authority is fully corrupt-free and that a lot of good measures have been taken by the Authority to enhance integrity and ethics and that their levels have very significantly improved.
"The Authority is one of the leading institutions in the country which are in the forefront of the war against corruption.
"More efforts will be taken in order to maintain this status in future," Mr Luoga concludes.