‘(ZIMRA) official resigns over unclear reasons, several months after he was suspended on corruption charges’.

 A senior Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) official has resigned over unclear reasons, several months after he was suspended on corruption charges, it has been learnt.

Zimra Commissioner in charge of Revenue Assurance and Special Projects Charles Jaure was last year probed after a whistle-blower wrote a dossier to Zimra, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission and the Special Anti-Corruption Unit outlining a series of alleged corrupt activities carried out by the official while carrying out his duties.

He was later cleared by ZIMRA and returned to work.

According to internal memo seen by Business Times, Jaure has left the authority.

“I write to advise that Mr. Charles Jaure Commissioner Revenue Assurance and Special Projects has resigned from the Authority with immediate effect. He resigned for personal reasons and the Authority wishes to thank him for the services rendered,” Zimra Commissioner General Faith Mazani wrote in an internal memo dated February 8.

Questions sent to Zimra spokesperson Francis Chimanda were not responded to at the time of going to print.

In the dossier to ZACC and the Special Anti-Corruption Unit, the whistle-blower claimed that NetOne Cellular was underpaying value added tax, withholding tax, income tax, and special excise due to airtime in 2015.

A local audit firm then carried an investigation into the entity which highlighted gross irregularities which led to the firing of former CE Reward Kangai. He also cited how a local commercial bank was underpaying withholding tax.

In its 2017 annual report, Zimra said it had toll-free hotlines to receive reports on corruption, carry out asset declarations and lifestyle audits on staff members as deterrents to corruption.

Zimra, which underwent a major shakeup of senior managers has introduced a cocktail of measures such electronic cargo tracking to minimize revenue leakages at the country’s ports of entry.

In the first half of 2017, Zimra suspended 21 officials and recovered $120 million through its anti-corruption drive following tip-offs from members of the public.

Source – businesstimes