Shakafuswa warns defaulting contractors

Shakafuswa warns defaulting contractors
By Chibaula Silwamba
Wednesday January 16, 2008 [03:00]

Finance and national planning deputy minister Jonas Shakafuswa has warned that companies that have government contracts and default on tax payments will be blacklisted. In an interview yesterday, Shakafuswa said he had directed the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) to investigate all companies that have contracts with government to verify if they are tax compliant or not. He said those that would be found to be defaulting on tax payments would never be given the government contracts again.

"For me to be able to give a contract or even pay those with outstanding bills, they have to show that they are tax compliant and the money we are paying is also going towards payment of taxes," Shakafuswa said.

"For big government contracts, I have discovered that there are a number of people who are not tax compliant; they are putting in fake tax clearance certificates in the bids."

He said it should not only be Tomorrow Investments to be investigated but several others and they should be prosecuted.

Shakafuswa said he knew many companies that were not paying taxes.
"I have companies in mind but they are being investigated, I can't give you the names now because we are investigating them," said Shakafuswa.

"What I have done is that I have directed ZRA to investigate all major contracts in the last two years and make sure that everybody has been captured especially for big institutions like Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Works and Supply, ZRA will move in and audit all tenders given and make sure that all tenders have been given properly."