By Yamikani Sabola

Mzuzu, August 6, Mana: Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) has disclosed plans to introduce the use of drones along the country’s borders to detect smuggling activities.

MRA’s Stakeholder Engagement Manager, Dorothy Mataya said during a media training on new tax measures in Mzuzu on Tuesday that the drones will be patrolling the borderlines to facilitate tracking and apprehension of smugglers.

She said smuggling of goods is very rampant due to the country’s porous borderlines.

Mataya said the Authority is therefore intensifying efforts in curbing the malpractice.

“Other countries are increasingly utilizing drones in border security and prevention of smuggling and we want to do the same. The flexibility and ability of drones to cover vast areas quickly make them valuable tools for border surveillance,” Mataya said.

She reiterated that MRA is fixing tax stamps on goods that pass through the border after the importer duly pays customs.

Mataya then appealed to the general public to only buy goods that have tax stamps on them as one way of promoting businesses that are contributing to the country’s tax net.

She said the media training was conducted to ensure that the journalists are given correct information on tax issues so that they can be able to articulate them to the masses the right way.

“We need you as media to go out and tell the public the advantages of paying taxes on all imported goods and how it affects the development of the country. People should understand that if they are into smuggling or are helping others to smuggle, development suffers,” she said.

One of the journalists, Ephraim Banda commended MRA for the training, saying the information shared during the workshop was very vital.

He however asked the Authority to extend the trainings to district based journalists including those from community radio stations.