Mr Gershem Pasi is the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) Commissioner General and a member of the Revenue Board. He was instrumental in the formation of the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, which was established after the amalgamation of the then Department of Taxes and the Department of Customs and Excise in 2001. Mr Pasi subsequently became the new Authority’s inaugural Commissioner General in May of the same year.

Under his visionary leadership, ZIMRA has become a formidable organisation premised on zero tolerance to corruption. This is underpinned by the Authority’s core values, which are integrity, transparency and fairness. He is attributed with transforming ZIMRA into a learning organisation, which is technology–driven and premised on service culture. Through his guidance, the Authority has been exceeding revenue targets religiously and collected a stunning US$2,2 billion last year against the Ministry of Finance’s target of US$1,9 billion, which translates to 33% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

After joining the then Department of Taxes in November 1982 as a Tax Assessor, Mr Pasi rose through the ranks, holding the following positions between 1982 and 1991: Senior Assessor; Inspector of Taxes; Senior Inspector; and Assistant Commissioner (Investigations).

Soon after completing his postgraduate studies, Mr Pasi was promoted to the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Taxes (by the end of 1995). In May 1996, he was appointed to act as Commissioner of Taxes, a position that was confirmed before the end of the same year. Mr Pasi holds a Master of Science Degree in Fiscal Studies from Bath University (United Kingdom); a Higher National Diploma in Business Studies from Wolverhampton Polytechnic in the United Kingdom; and several qualifications in business management, taxation and systems design. He is a fellow of the Zimbabwe Institute of Management and the Institute of Certified Tax Accountants Zimbabwe (ICTAZ), as well as a Member of the Institute of Directors Zimbabwe (IoDZ).

Mr Gershem Pasi received the 2011 National Contributor Award from the Zimbabwe Institute of Management at an award ceremony held on 18 May 2012 in Harare.The ZIMRA Commissioner General was also crowned the IoDZ Director of the Year for 2010. He received the United States based Madison Manager of the Year Award for 2010 and the Zimbabwe Institute of Management (ZIM) First Runner Up manager of the Year Award for 2010. Mr Pasi also received ICTAZ Taxation Lifetime Achiever’s Award, as second runner up. He was the first runner-up in the 2009 Zimbabwe Institute of Management Manager of the Year Awards, in which he was the substantive winner in 2004 and 2006. He is married and has three children and a granddaughter. Besides ensuring the implementation of effective and efficient revenue collection strategies at the Authority, Mr Pasi has also ventured into farming focusing on tobacco, seed maize, cattle rearing and piggery.

A Christian and a responsible corporate citizen, the Commissioner General has a soft spot for the disadvantaged members of society. In addition to spearheading ZIMRA’s corporate social responsibility activities, which have so far benefited deserving institutions and individuals, Mr Pasi and his family religiously assist the underprivileged in society. He is a life member of the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society and is a past chairman of the Deseret International whose main programmes include Eyes for Zimbabwe and spearheading HIV/AIDS training in schools. Mr Pasi is also a founder and trustee of the Zimbabwe Aids Care Foundation, the current Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Emerald Hill Children’s Home, Vice Chairperson of the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) board and a past board member of Homelink.

The Commissioner General of ZIMRA, Mr Gershem Pasi, receives his accolade from IoDZ’s Mr Johannes Mudzengerere while Ms Ansie Ramalho the CEO of Institute of Directors South Africa looks on.