By 
ZANZIBAR has saved over 23bn/- in establishment of the government’s electronic payment system, Minister of State in the President’s Office, Finance and Planning Jamal Kassim Ali said here on Monday.
He said private suppliers of the system quoted their prices at 10 million US dollars (over 23bn/-), which the government perceived as too expensive to incur.
“…We then opted for our own experts in the government, with support from Tanzania mainland we are today witnessing to save over 10 million dollars,” Minister Jamal told a three-day training for revenue officers, information technology experts and accountants responsible for the electronic system.
The minister informed the trainees that Zanzibar’s electronic payment system–ZanMalipo–is scheduled for countrywide rollout next month, reaffirming the government keenness to install and effectively use the e-systems for revenue collection and control.
He said effective next month, there will be no manual receipt in payments to the government, however, assuring those dealing with issuance of the receipts of their job security because there would be other tasks to perform.
The minister said the government expects to get many benefits from the system, which will ease the revenue collection tasks and control the government money.
Under the manual system, the minister told the seminar participants, the government could neither monitor nor control the collected revenues, “and your job too was tedious.”
He challenged the trainees to take the training seriously because, “the government relies on you to operate the system with perfection.”
Zanzibar e-Government Agency Managing Director Said Seif Said explained that his agency is well prepared to facilitate the digital payment systems in the public sector, expressing optimism that under the new system, the government collections will soar.
Increased transparency in the collection systems will also enhance control of the government money, he said.
Senior ICT Officer and Head of Government e-Payment Gateway (GePG) in the union government, Basil Baligumya, sharing the mainland experience, described the e-payment systems as the most effective measures in revenue control.
He said the system has helped the union government to increase revenues and reduce the costs of collection, “With this system, you don’t need people to prepare and issue paper receipts.”
Government electronic payment system is one of the strategies, which President Hussein Mwinyi had been pushing for since he assumed the country’s highest office in November last year.
Comments