LRA rebrands to Revenue Services Lesotho

MASERU – THE Lesotho Revenue Authority (LRA) will starting this week be known as the Revenue Services Lesotho (RSL) following a rebranding exercise.

The Commissioner of Client Service at the RSL, ’Mathabo Mokoko, said the rebranding journey started back in 2018.

She said revenue from taxation and customs provides governments with the much needed funds to invest in development to relieve poverty and deliver public services and social infrastructures required to enhance long-term growth.

“Integrated revenue administration models have the potential to bring crucial improvements and effectiveness of tax administration,” Mokoko said.

Mokoko said also considering the new and daunting challenges in the local, regional and global environment it has become imperative to shift focus from the legacy approach and onto the softer non-enforcement collecting functions for improved administration processes.

“There is a dire need for a reform of the Lesotho revenue collection system for modernisation and to align with changes in the socio-economy,” she said.

Mokoko said the economy has become increasingly globalised with an increased amount of foreign investment and cross-border business transactions.

She said regional integration and globalisation of the economy has expanded business activities.

She said being faced with such a pace of globalisation tax, administrations need to deepen mutual understanding regarding international taxation standards including transfer pricing and tax treaties so that international businesses can be facilitated.

“In order to provide a better environment in tax matters, global collaboration is critical and unavoidable,” she said.

“It is critical to create an environment for proper tax payment,” she said.

“A strong and engaged private sector in cooperation with tax practitioners is indispensable to promote voluntary and by extension automatic tax compliance,” she said.

The General Commissioner of RSL, Thabo Khasipe, said this is the culmination of a five-year strategic plan to turn Lesotho Revenue Authority into Revenue Service.

“We no longer want to be an authority anymore, we want to be service providers,” Khasipe said.

He said this will help them in improving their revenue collection and improve automotive compliance amongst others.

Khasipe said for the past four consecutive years they have exceeded the revenue collection targets.

He said in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the revenue authority has been performing so well which shows efficiency.

He said in order to achieve more and meet the clients’ needs, this calls for much collaboration with all the stakeholders and clients.

The Minister of Finance, Thabo Sophonea, said the government is striving to mobilise greater tax revenue domestically by engaging the tax paying clients.

He said their major goal is to foster an overall culture of compliance in which citizens see paying taxes as an integral aspect of their relationship with their government.

Sophonea said as part of their plan to tackle the impact of Covid-19 which has already caused havoc to the economy, we should adopt this opportunity to reconfigure strategies that can expedite growth.

“RSL saw an opportunity in the negative view of the former organisation and are using it to their advantage,” he said.

He said through initiatives such as this one, the RSL sends a strong signal that Lesotho is open for business and investments that are mutually beneficial to create decent jobs and improve the livelihoods of Basotho.

The Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro said when the government signed off on the proposal to effect this change, they foresaw an organisation that could bring stability to the Lesotho tax framework.

He said this stability will be critical for businesses and revenue collection resources as we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic and other economic challenges.

Majoro said good corporate governance has become an objective of every organisation to ensure its sustainability.

He said as you embark on a new organisational culture of service, one has to keep in mind the critical importance of integrity.

Majoro said clients and stakeholders are the ultimate beneficiaries of development that arises when the nation achieves financial independence.

He said their role is examined by their participation to determine what improvements can be made by adopting modern and innovative mechanisms to collect enough revenue and reduce donor dependence.

Therefore, he said partnerships with leading industry players will stand Basotho in good stead and help them keep up pace with today’s rapid changes in the global economy and technological landscape, and thereby adapt towards swift service delivery and economic independence.

He said through engagement RSL can keep abreast with the dynamic business environment and clients are able to share useful feedback about the quality of our services for continuous improvement.

Refiloe Mpobole