KRA Staff to Start Wearing Cameras in a Bid to Curb Corruption

By Jane Muia / Published June 22, 2022 | 11:39 am

KEY POINTS

The use of cameras is expected to start in areas with big tickets such as the border points, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Mombasa port and the Inland Container Depot.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The Kenya Revenue Authority revealed that it loses an estimated 12 billion shillings yearly from excise tax evasion alone.

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Workers will now be required to wear body cameras known as body cams to curb tax cheating and enable the taxman monitor staffs who receive bribes from taxpayers, resulting in tax evasion.

“Very soon, we will also be ensuring our enforcement officers have body-worn cameras, like the ones you see in the US, so that any action they take is recorded and we can see it. When you put it off, we will also have to understand why you do it,” KRA Commissioner General Githii Mburu said.

This will mainly apply to workers working in the domestic tax department and customs and border control. The use of cameras is expected to start in areas with big tickets such as the border points, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Mombasa port and the Inland Container Depot.

“This is so that as you engage out there, you do not get involved in activities that will compromise our objectives. We have to employ risk management where our risks are highest, so they will be more for our officers at border points where things are moving in and out and all our custom areas,” Mburu added.

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KRA officials have been accused of helping to fraudulently clear cargo and alter tax returns to assist taxpayers in evading tax payments, leading to massive tax losses.

In 2019, the taxman fired 75 employees over corruption claims which saw the taxman lose billions of shillings in tax leakages. Sixty-one of those arrested were from the domestic taxes department and 14 from customs and border control.

In October last year, during National Taxpayers’ Day, president Uhuru Kenyatta urged the tax man to collaborate with other agencies within the multi-agency framework to ensure that no single cent of revenue is lost through tax evasion.

The Kenya Revenue Authority revealed that it loses an estimated 12 billion shillings yearly from excise tax evasion alone.