Motorists complain over Zimra systems upgrade

Some motorists said they had not been able to register their vehicles since the beginning of the year because of the problems at Zimra.

A visit to Bulawayo Zimra offices by Business Chronicle last week revealed long queues of motorists waiting to register their vehicles while others wanted to change vehicle ownership.

In separate interviews, motorists expressed concern over the inconveniences caused by the systems upgrade, which they said disturbed business operations.

“They should have undertaken the systems upgrade before the end of 2012 because the majority of people usually pay their presumptive tax at the beginning of the year,” said Mr James Zikhali.

Another commuter operator said Zimra’s timing for the upgrade was not right since most motorists usually pay tax to avoid being harassed by the police.

“The police are taking advantage of the situation to fine motorists since they know that most of the vehicles have not been registered due to the systems upgrade. The upgrade is not only affecting motorists but the business community as well,” said Mr Tendai Nhema.

Mr Nhema said motorists hoped that Zimra would not go on to penalise motorists for late registration of vehicles and payment of tax since they had created the delays.

In a statement, Zimra advised its clients that it was carrying out an exercise to upgrade the system used for tax and revenue management.

“The objective of the project is to improve the efficiency of tax administration and taxpayer services. The upgrade would replace the existing information system with expandable, integrated and flexible solutions, which allow Zimra to change and evolve processes and structures without technical contrasts,” said the statement .

The statement said the advantages of the systems upgrade would include effective tax computation and analysis without any external systems support by using a built in online, real time and integrated SAP processes.

“The upgrade will provide for an effective, efficient and adaptable infrastructure, enabling Zimra’s core and support business processes,” said the statement.

Zimra said the systems upgrade would disrupt normal activities at workstations throughout the country.