The provincial government of North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo has announced the resumption of tax collection effective August 4, after it was suspended following a sanitary state of emergency decreed by President Felix Tshisekedi.
The decision was announced by the provincial minister of finance David Kamuha during a ceremony, on Tuesday, to mark the launching of a campaign for the mobilization of public revenue.
The campaign is within the context of current activities of the fiscal administration of the province and comes on the heels of the lifting of the sanitary state of emergency decreed by the country’s head of state.
“The sanitary state of emergency situation negatively impacted on the collection of revenue because economic activities, which generate the revenue that replenishes the public treasury experienced a serious recession both worldwide and nationally, and even at provincial level.
“As you know, the borders had been closed, the suspension of certain taxes decreed, the measures of fiscal control and forced recovery suspended, local domestic and international flights suspended, schools and churches closed, bars and restaurants equally closed.
“Those are the ingredients to understand the drop in revenue”, explained David Kamuha, the provincial minister of finance.
The minister called on the civil society, economic operators, cadres and agents of public administration, parliamentarians and provincial ministers to preach through examples by acquitting themselves of their civic obligations.
Agents of the North Kivu Directorate General of Revenue are to be dispatched to the field with a view to executing the urgent measures taken to this effect.
Notably, they are expected to round up within a few days, the financial clean-up operations and the implication of cadres in the mobilization of revenue and other financial input.
It should be recalled that on March 31, 2020, the Governor of North Kivu, Carly Nzanzu announced the suspension of tax collection especially on agricultural products during the period of the health crisis.
“We must sincerely say thank you to the provincial authorities for having accorded us more or less three months without paying taxes following the coronavirus pandemic.
“We are all the same conscious of the fact that the province cannot function without taxes. The province also has obligations towards its inhabitants. And to realize these objectives, the means must be available.
“It is thus time for us to sensitize the population to pay their taxes. We reassure you that we will sensitize all economic operators to meet up with their civic obligations”, declared Bercky Chirimwami, Vice President of the Federation of Congo Enterprises of North Kivu.
The provincial government also announced its new vision namely “North Kivu, 100 per cent Clean, Lighted, Secured and Tarred”.
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