The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has started the process of introducing body cameras for its staff at their workstations.
This comes months after the taxman announced plans to have its workers wear bodycams in a bid to curb tax cheating and crack down on staff bribery.
Nairobi Wire understands KRA has now invited technology firms and vendors to bid for a tender to supply the body cameras by the end of this month.
The tax agency will hold a virtual meeting with the vendors on Tuesday next week.
The bodycams will be used mainly by staff who work in the domestic tax department and customs and border control in the latest effort by authorities to fight corruption.
“Very soon we will be ensuring our enforcement officers have body-worn cameras, like the ones you see in the US so that any action they take is recorded and we can see it. When you put it off, we will also have to understand why you do it,” KRA Commissioner General Githii Mburu said in June.
“This is so that as you engage out there, you do not get involved in activities that will compromise our objectives. We have to employ risk management where our risks are highest, so they will be more for our officers at border points where things are moving in and out and all our custom areas.”
The taxman is also looking to improve surveillance on premises that produce excisable products such as alcohol by accessing real-time CCTV feed from factory floors to monitor the movement of products.
In order to fight excise evasion by alcohol manufacturers, KRA will also install sensors in storage tanks to monitor the usage of raw materials, which will inform the volume of finished products.
Also Read – KRA To Deploy Drones To Nab Tax Cheats
