MIRA's concern: one toilet for 50 people, retention low

Commissioner General of Taxation Hassan Zareer has stated that there is only one toilet for 50 employees at the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA), with employee turnover rate increasing year after year.

During today's Budget Committee meeting at Parliament, Zareer stated that he is not too concerned about the budget for MIRA next year but he wants better things for employees at the agency.

He said that when MIRA was first formed, the agency had a better salary compared to others, with it now not being in parallel with the amount of work that needs to be done.

While turnover at MIRA was at 17 percent last year, it has risen to 21 percent this year. This happened due to technical employees receiving better salary options and better job opportunities elsewhere, said Zareer.

Zareer stated that the work environment at the agency is not at appropriate levels. He said that some office buildings have only one bathroom for 50 employees.

"Some places have only one bathroom for 50 employees. This is a very big challenge for a work environment. People are working in small, congested areas," said Zareer.

While the agency needs 370 employees, with 337 posts being approved, the agency currently has around 290 employees. And even when job postings are announced for the vacant posts, not a lot of interest is expressed, said Zareer.

"One of MIRA's biggest issues that I would like to highlight is employee retention. This is due to MIRA having a different pay scale compared to other state agencies when it was formed. Even so, the last 15 years have seen a decline in the pay scale, with no changes to the agency being made, and the working hours along with the restrictions making it an unattractive place to work at," said Zareer.

And so, he stated that employee salaries need to be raised, with funding needing to be set aside for a better work environment. He also stated that if the workplace is not improved for employees, it will be difficult to maintain proper performance at the agency.