The Lesotho Revenue Authority intensifies its integrity development efforts
Maseru, Lesotho, 1-4 March 2011
Integrity issues are high on the agenda of the new Lesotho Revenue Authority (LRA) management as the country is on its way to a profound reform and modernization process. At the request of the LRA Commissioner for Customs and Excise, on 1-4 March 2011 integrity experts from the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the Norwegian Customs administration delivered a support mission to Maseru aiming at conducting an integrity self-assessment and developing a relevant and practically-oriented integrity development action plan. The workshop was conducted using funding made available to WCO by Eurocustoms.
Before the integrity development event, the WCO experts met with LRA stakeholders from the private sector and other government agencies, as well as with the Authority’s senior management to assure better orientation in the current situation and to take onboard all important concerns and broader integrity-related issues.
The workshop was designed as a very dynamic and pro-active event oriented to practical solutions. The participants made an assessment of all activities already taken by their administration to adhere to the highest standards in the field of integrity covering all the 10 elements of the Revised Arusha Declaration. They showed a keen interest in developing and implementing concrete and practically-oriented measures related to strengthening integrity which they could implement in their everyday work. They also benefited from the sharing of experience with the WCO experts and with their colleagues from different units and learning about innovative approaches and practices in dealing with integrity issues.
The Workshop was attended by LRA staff from different divisions and units of Customs, Tax and corporate services that set a good ground for the Authority to structure their further overall modernisation activities taking integrity concerns into consideration and incorporating them into ongoing reform projects and programmes. Moreover, possible pilot areas have been identified and thus LRA could become the next WCO member to embark on an integrity pilot project with WCO support.