Saturday, August 23, 2008
What happens to a country when its tax collectors lay down their tools? The common theory is that while they labour to collect taxes, politicians simply spend away without a thought when it comes to giving themselves a raise. To be fair, the task of tax collecting is not an easy one in Africa where many businesses are unregistered and operate underground. So what ever the justification to delay an increment in wages and salaries, six years is a long wait.
Namibia’s tax collectors are planning a nation-wide strike to raise concerns over poor wages and salary. The tax collectors include customs, excise and inland revenue collectors who have been asking the government for the past six years for an increase. It is estimated that the Namibian government stands to loose N$500 million in labour cost if the strike goes ahead. Should the collectors strike for two days as planned, the government will be losing N$1,000,000 in revenue. The government’s major reason for delaying action on the request is to await a tender board decision that has to be contracted to and evaluated for the entire public service.