ActionAid Holds a Round Table With Women on Tax

23rd March 2017

ActionAid in conjunction Non Governmental Organizations’ Coordinating Council (NGOCC)  continued to commemorate Women’s Day through various activities. One of the latest and last, was the round table event held at the NGOCC Secretariat and aired live on Yatsani radio-99.1FM. Under the theme “Tax Justice For Women’s Rights, Global Days of Action 13th-24th March 2017,” women from different NGOCC Member Organizations convened to learn, interact and share on Tax issues and how they affects the women in Zambia. 

The meeting was opened by ActionAid Country Director Nalucha Ziba. In her remarks, Ms Ziba submitted that tax should speak to the needs of women and their rights. she said “ActionAid Zambia believes that tax revenue should be used to progressively realize women’s rights. Taxes provide public services for women such as health, education and water. Unfortunately, majority of women especially in rural areas have no access to basic services.”

She acknowledge the positive contribution women made in the country. “I am certain that we all acknowledge the positive contribution women have made in this country in terms of development. In order to further enhance their positive contribution to development, we need to enhance their potential by investing in public services such as education. This will enable women to have the necessary skills to participate effectively in the economy of this country.”

The women in attendance thanked the conveners of the meeting as there was less sensitization on tax issues among women. “We do not know much about our tax rights and so, this event has enlightened us” remarked Sharon Mulenga and Florence Banda submitted that “such meetings should happen more often to help different women claim their rights” while Ireen Phiri noted that “alot of women especially in the rural areas, were very behind in as far as tax justice is concerned.”