The president of the Tax Authority of Mozambique (AT), Amelia Muendane, defended the need to reduce the stigma that still exists between her institution and taxpayers, a fact that hinders the process of collecting revenue for the State.
“AT employees are seen as inspectors and auditors of the taxpayers’ business, but we are more than that, because the tax system aims to ensure the redistribution of production and thus invigorate the economy,” she said.
Amélia Muendane, who was speaking in Cabo Delgado, at a meeting aimed at discussing the economic transformation model based on cooperativism, explained that the institution she heads, “as the one responsible for collecting revenues for the state coffers, has as one of its attributions to propose platforms for economic integration.”
“Modern cooperativism is one of these platforms and also aims to ensure that producers are exclusively engaged in production, while the management of the cooperative has the responsibility to do marketing and market research to place the product,” he said.
On the occasion, the source lamented the fact that some commercial intermediaries are taking dividends from the lack of organization of the productive sector, taking as an example the production and commercialization of sesame in Cabo Delgado.
“This product is placed at a low price on the international market because the intermediaries negotiate individually with the producers. But if they were organized in cooperatives the results would be different because the manager has an idea of what the market offers for this or that product”, she referred. In the particular case of this province, the president of the TA pointed out that the best way to maximize production is by organizing the productive sector in cooperatives.
“Cabo Delgado has the potential to produce because 86.6% of its population is dedicated to agriculture. It is necessary to transform this potential into wealth and we need a cooperative organization” he said.
Speaking in the same scope, the governor of Cabo Delgado, Valige Tauabo, highlighted the technological advances of the Mozambican tax system, as well as the definition of strategies by the TA for the sustainability of the State’s activities. “We also believe that through cooperativism the broadening of the tax base and collection of more revenue will be assured,” he said.
