Action Aid Zambia has urged the government to expand the tax base progressively while avoiding the temptation of incurring unnecessary debts.
Organization Country Director, Nalucha Ziba told Money FM News in a statement that government should also expedite and enhance civil service payroll audit to eliminate ghost workers from the payroll in the civil service to have a true picture of public service wage bill amidst fiscal constraints.
Ms Ziba said in the last report by the Auditor General, it was reported that the Ministry of Health paid K1.5 million to ghost workers.
“Government could still be spending on ghost workers and thus overburdening an already overwhelmed budget.” She said.
She further re-echoed the Zambia Revenue Authority’s statement that “Indeed the Zambian people need government services more than ever during this pandemic, hence, the need to collect adequate revenue.”