ESWATINI REVENUE SERVICE REBRANDS

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• Eswatini Revenue Service admits that its brand has been tarnished
• Commits to improving relationships with taxpayers and being more service-oriented.
• The new brand promises to put taxpayers first

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By Ntokozo Nkambule

The Eswatini Revenue Service (ERS), formerly SRA, has rebranded after eleven years in operation in the country. The institution notes that there are two main reasons that have led to this decision. Firstly; the country’s name change from Swaziland to Eswatini, secondly; and maybe most importantly, a change in their strategic approach to improving voluntary compliance as compared to being more punitive or harsh, but rather more service-oriented.

The Head of Corporate Communications from ERS, Vusie Dlamini in his presentation during the launch of the brand revealed that the Corporate Rebranding dates back to 2018. He said over that period they conducted an internal and external survey to get an understanding of the public’s perception of the organization and brand. “We conducted a brand survey in 2020 through Survey Monkey, participants included business taxpayers who mostly attend our engagement workshops. Our interest was in finding out three main things: How people react to the mention of SRA, why they view the SRA that way, and what do they liken SRA to? The responses were not pretty, but we have to take them on the chin if we are to achieve our objectives. All in all, findings from the survey show that our brand has been tarnished” he noted. Dlamini said their new corporate identity is about being customer-centric and service-oriented.

ERS’s Governing Board Chairman, David Dlamini in his address acknowledged the unpleasant image of the institution. “We acknowledge the unpleasant picture that has been presented about the old SRA. I must confirm that, when the ERS Executive made the call to rebrand the organization, we noted the unfortunate image that has been created in the minds of the taxpayer. So, yes it is about time for change” he posited. Also present during the launch was the Minister of Finance, Neal Rijkenberg, and other stakeholders.

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