Mazani leaves ZIMRA
STAFF WRITER
THE ZimbabweRevenue Authority (Zimra) boss Faith Mazani is leaving the country’s tax collector at the end of next month.
She leaves after serving ZIMRA as commissioner general for the past three years after taking over from Geshem Pasi.
In astatement, ZIMRA vice board chairperson Josephine Matambo confirmed the departure saying Mazani was destined for re-appointment at the InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF).
“The ZIMRA board of directors congratulates Mazani for her pending re-appointment to the IMF with effect from 01 February 2021.
“We would want to thank and appreciate Mazani for her sterling performance in successfully leading the authority in the implementation of ZIMRA’s strategy which supported key pillars of the Government’s National Transitional Stabilisation Programme(TSP),” Matambo said.
She added: “Under her leadership, ZIMRA managed to consistently surpass revenue targets set by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development .
We wish Mazani all the best in her new role and look forward to continuing working with her on strengthening Domestic Resource Mobilisation in Zimbabwe.”
Mazani has 35 years’ experience in revenue administration covering direct and indirect taxes, having served at senior management levels in different administrations in Southern Africa.
Before her appointment as the ZIMRA boss , she was the regional revenue administration advisor for IMF Regional Technical Assistance Center (RTAC) for West Africa,based in Ghana (AFRITAC West 2).
As regional revenue administration advisor for the IMF, Mazani delivered and coordinated technical assistance and capacity building support to six non-Francophone countries in West Africa, being Cabo Verde, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and The Gambia.
Mazani,joined the then Zimbabwe Department of Taxes in January 1983, and was one of the first Revenue Commissioners of ZIMRA at its inception in 2001.
She served as Revenue Commissioner for Region 1 and 2, and as Commissioner Projects and Planning.
She left ZIMRA in February 2007 and joined the South African Revenue Service as senior manager in October 2007, after a brief stint as senior tax manager at Deloitte and Touche Zimbabwe.
Mazani contributed, as a Commissioner, to the setting up of the Swaziland Revenue Authority,which she joined in November 2010, and was responsible for the implementation of Value Added Tax (VAT) and setting up the reform and modernisation program.
Before joining the IMF in January 2014, Mazani had gained extensive experience working with regional and international organisations including ATAF, COMESA, the OECDand SADC, representing ZIMRA at technical and council meetings of the World Customs Organization (WCO), leading a CATA Management development program for three years, and has been involved in training workshops and seminars fordifferent regional and international organizations.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Studies from the University of Zimbabwe and a Masters’ in Economics – Public Policy and Taxation from the Yokohama National University in Japan.
In 2019,ZIMRA collected net revenue of ZWL$23.19 bn against a target of ZWL$18.60bn, apositive variance of 24.65%.
The net revenue to GDP ratio for 2019 stood at 18 percent against a regional averageratio of 15%.
