Revenue collection very poor, says Duma

 By JEFFREY ELAPA

REVENUE collection is a problem that forces the country to look to international financial institutions to secure loans only to be dictated by them, Petroleum and Energy Minister William Duma says.

Duma, who is the United Resource Party leader, said in Parliament last Friday that revenue collection in the country had been poor as a result of poor conditions and the indifference between political leaders and public servants.

He said the country was losing a lot of revenue as a result of the poor and inconsistent collection by those entrusted to collect the money.

“We do not collect revenues humbly and therefore we have been losing a lot of revenue. If we had collected revenue well, we would not go to financial institutions like the World Bank,” he said.

“The World Bank has no track record of helping a developing country develop. 

“They come and dictate to us in return for their money. If we have been collecting our revenues well, we will not go to them,” he said.

Duma said it was time to take stock of the way the country had been collecting revenue.

Duma, who has been instrumental in the development of the liquefied natural gas project, said it was time to get important projects such as the rice scheme in Central off the ground.

He said he and the government had to put pressure by trying to terminate the licence of the gas project and encourage development that would transform the country.

He said it was time other projects got the nod from the government for the benefit of the country as it would generate a lot of revenue for the country.