Rwanda Revenue Authority's Commissioner for Customs Services Raphael
Tugirumuremyi. He has been suspended over corruption allegations. FILE
PHOTO | CYRIL NDEGEYA
Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) has suspended its Commissioner for Customs Services over corruption allegations.
Mr Raphael Tugirumuremyi was suspended in mid-January after an internal audit indicated that he is culpable of graft.
Police and RRA sources confirmed to The EastAfrican his suspension, which had not been made public, saying he is currently under police investigation for financial malpractices.
The sources however declined to reveal details of the graft allegations that Mr Tugirumuremyi is facing.
In
recent years, the tax authority has seen a surge in the number of staff
dismissed over malpractices. Last year, 13 employees were blacklisted
by the Labour Ministry for misconduct up from five workers who had been
let go a year earlier.
In an interview with The EastAfrican
on Wednesday, RRA Commissioner Richard Tusabe said the decision to send
away staff follows the taxman’s zero tolerance to corruption policy as
it aims to build trust with taxpayers.
“He [Mr
Tugirumuremyi] is not the only one; we carry out internal investigations
and suspend workers who we find to be involved in any illegal act and
corruption. We make reports on this every year,” he told The EastAfrican.
“When
they are cleared and found innocent, they are allowed back to work. But
when they are found guilty, they are indefinitely suspended and
sometimes even arrested. We do not compromise with such issues because
our integrity matters,” Mr Tusabe added.
Mr
Tugirumuremyi joined RRA in 2008 as a junior officer and rose through
the ranks to become the head of the Customs Services in 2013 in charge
of collecting millions of dollars from taxes levied on imports.
Many
of the taxman’s workers who have been fired or even jailed were found
to have demanded or received bribes for a lower tax assessment or waver
and aiding in tax evasion.
Mr Tusabe said in addition
to internal probes to curb graft practices, the taxman will also rely on
the regional electronic cargo tracking system at points of entry that
was commissioned last March.
He said surveillance cameras will also be installed in all border posts to monitor cargo movement.
Landlocked Rwanda is ranked the least corrupt in the East African region.
According
to anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International, the Uganda
Revenue Authority is the most corrupt among the tax authorities in the
East African Community followed by Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi in that
order.
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