PREAMBLE
All through my years in the pursuit of the prestigious priestly vocation as a seminarian of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, I had two guiding maxims, one in English and the other in the dead language of the living church; Latin. These maxims are: “it is the last drop of the urine that stains the trouser” and “tempus fugit” (time flies). These maxims which seem paradoxical meant different things to me and holding them tenaciously, meant achieving my quiditas as one in the state of potency (seminarian), working towards and act (to become a priest). To summarize it all, I always had it registered in my sub-conscious that nothing should be taken for granted and I must derive optimum utility from every molecule of time I had at my disposition. Indeed, I could tell my contemporaries in the secular institutions that a day in the seminary is like a thousand years elsewhere.
The debate as to whether 100 days are enough to evaluate ones actions in relation to public service is no longer a fascinating one for lovers of wisdom. This is because those who come to public service adequately prepared can perform unquantifiable miracles within seven days. It is usually the ones who maneuver their way and cling onto power under the guise of public service that come up with weak arguments as means of launching some defense mechanisms as a cover for their incompetence and lack of vision for whatever portfolio they occupy. A careful evaluation of Mrs. Orubibi’s 100 days in office reveal that three months are more than enough to perform remarkably, provided there is commitment and sincerity of purpose in the discharge of the sacred responsibility bestowed on the office holder. A chronicle of her activities over the past 100 days bears witness to this fact with prospects of more promising days ahead.
OVER 700 YOUTHS EMPLOYED SO FAR
One of the greatest challenge facing Benue State and indeed, the entire nation is that of unemployment. Of course, this has brought about serious misconduct among this group of people with the innocent ones suffering the resultant effect. Mrs. Orubibi therefore, upon assumption of duty made it a point of concern to ensure that most youths are gainfully employed with the service directly or indirectly. In her 100 days in office, about 700 young men and women have waved goodbye to unemployment and by the grace of God, are off the club of joblessness.
This employment though not directly from BIRS, Mrs. Orubibi has made it a matter of policy that all consultants/contractors/agents must employ Benue indigenes to assist them in their various contracts with the service.
This is a clear demonstration of her willingness to make sure that graduates are productive and have legitimate means of meeting their ends. Surely, plans are on hand and at the highest level of maturity to see to it that thousands are absorbed into the service to fill the vacuum created by those (contract staff) who were recently moved to other MDAs from BIRS.
STAFF DISCIPLINE
On assumption of office on the 14th October, 2015, Mrs. Mimi Adzape-Orubibi waved aside the civil service closure time of 4pm and left the office at exactly 7:39pm. This action of hers on the first day of her work and subsequently, at the Benue State Internal Revenue Service (BIRS) caused serious shoveling of feet among Management Staff as most of them lost weight after a few days of hard work with “Madam Tax” as she is fondly called. As far as she is concerned, there is neither night nor day until the target set for her is met.
With a target of #1.5billion, Mrs. Orubibi has been wise enough to boost the morale of her staff in words and action through leadership by example. The Executive Chairman has made sure that all acts of indiscipline among members of staff are frowned at in all ramifications; ranging from late coming to work, show of lackadaisical attitude towards same, corruption and any behavior contrary to the guidelines for staff conduct as enshrined in the Benue State Revenue Administration Law 2015. To this effect, all Area Tax Officers/Heads of Departments across the State have been given the charge to ensure proper use of the Time Book and Movement Register in their respective offices.
INTRODUCTION OF KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPI)
At her maiden meeting with the management and staff of the BIRS, Mrs. Orubibi introduced the key performance indicators (KPI) for all her staff. This KPI is measurable in target; as job descriptions are timely, identifiable, accurate and broken down per day. It is no longer business as usual and the days of showing languid attitude towards work are over. The target of #1.5billion set for the BIRS by the state government is not only for Mrs. Orubibi. Hence, the target is shared to all departments/units down to individual officers. And it is not only for those who are directly involved in collection but also, those who are responsible for TIN registration, Admin and all other departments. For instance, those under TIN unit have a certain number of people they are individually expected to register daily. Once this is not done, the officer’s KPI remains stagnant or goes down rather than appreciating.
One other important thing about the KPI is that it is a major determinant as far as promotion, bonuses and other staff incentives are concerned. Once you don’t meet your target, you can be transferred out of a particular department and or denied certain privileges. So, since the introduction of this policy, members of staff only speak the language of “target” as most of them have woken up from their slumber and are willing to do the needful in order to gain promotion and other incentives.
FIGHTING CORRUPTION FROM WITHIN: CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME
Again, within the period under review, Mrs. Orubibi has been able to reduce sharp practices within the service to the barest minimum. Prior to the take-off of her stewardship at the BIRS, some members of Staff used to issue fake Insurance, Motor license, Learners’ permit, et cetera. However, with the aid of serious intelligence report from whistleblowers and upon thorough investigation, she has been able to put to rest such practices. To prove her level of seriousness, she has seized a couple of fake receipts from some of her staff. This also informed the management’s decision to carry out a massive staff transfer from one station to the other.
CONSULTATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS
Once upon a time in the ancient Greek city of Athens, the Oracle of Delphi was consulted in order to ascertain who the wisest person was at that time. To the astonishment of many, the Oracle revealed that Socrates was the wisest (and greatest for the Greeks) of men. The Philosopher was then asked the secret of his wisdom and he retorted: “a wise man is he who knows that he doesn’t know”.
Though an Economist by qualification, a financial expert by training, an Accountant by advancement and a member of five professional bodies with an unbeatable record of excellence in service at the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Mrs. Orubibi thought it wise to embrace stakeholders and consult with them in order to achieve the set objective of improving the state’s IGR.
As a matter of urgent public importance, the Executive Chairman of BIRS invited all Executives of Ministries, Departments and Agencies, including all heads of Tertiary Institutions (Essential Service Providers) in the state to work out ways of working together amicably in the common interest of improved revenue generation. This she did, without treating any of the MDAs with ignominy or any iota of inferiority as all are important in the business of taxation.
In furtherance to the aforementioned, Mrs. Orubibi visited Traditional Rulers, Religious Leaders, Elders and other resource persons to tap from their wealth of experience and seek ways of collaborating with them, for the good of the state.
BRINGING THE INFORMAL SECTOR INTO THE TAX NET
It is common knowledge that before Mrs. Orubibi’s tenure the informal sector was not captured into the tax net and most of what was generated by past Chairmen was largely from the formal sector (PAYE). However, in a bid to raise the state IGR from an average of #230 million to the proposed #1.5billion, the incumbent Chief Executive opted for the most suitable option of consistently having series of dialogue with leaders of Traders/Market Unions and Association in the likes of BEMOA. In fact, she prepared an itinerary and visited all the markets within Makurdi metropolis to intimate them on the need to pay their personal income tax for obvious reasons; not to enumerate other town hall meetings organized for the same purpose.
PAY SMALL-SMALL
It is obvious that payment of taxes and levies are considered alien to most of our people, particularly those in the informal sector and for business men/women, it is very difficult to pay a chunk of money at the end of the year in the name of tax. Thus, for those in the informal sector who are grouped under the category of “presumptive taxpayers”, Mrs. Orubibi introduced a staggered payment plan of #50 per day for small income earners. This is intended to help people pay with ease and in a friendly manner. For instance, an Okada man, Tomatoes seller, et cetera may find it suicidal if you ask them to pay a presumptive tax of #15,000 at a time. Hence, in order to make it lighter, the Executive Chairman introduced the pay small-small plan.
BLOCKING OF LEAKAGES: INTRODUCTION OF POS DEVICES
The point of sale (POS) device is unarguably a household name as far as Benue State is concerned at the moment. It is the most talked about policy of government on all forms of media within the state; particularly the social media. Truly, change has come to stay in Benue as so many corrupt persons unwilling to change have been running from pillar to post and looking for ways to deter the Chief Executive of BIRS and her team on the use of POS devices for revenue collection in the state.
This policy marks a total metamorphosis from the status quo ante; as all manual receipts have been killed and buried. The old system which made it easy for people to rob the state government of her resources has been replaced with a technologically driven one. The POS device which records all revenue transactions real-time has so many special features that help to reduce sharp practices and consequently block leakages.
One of the most interesting things about the POS device is the dashboard monitoring system. This allows the Governor, Executive Chairman of BIRS and any other principal officer the opportunity of viewing all transactions made on the POS device real-time. For instance, before the introduction of the POS device, BIRS knew nothing about how much was generated from Modern Market toll gate or which account it was credited with the proceed. However, with the new development, the moment a private car owner pays the toll of #50, the Governor, BIRS and Commissioner for Commerce and Industry view it with the name of the collecting agent/officer on the platform created for them.
SECURITY: REGISTRATION OF COMMERCIAL MOTORCYCLES (OKADA)
In the area of security, the Executive Chairman has initiated and in collaboration with Benue Motorcycle Association (BEMOA) commenced the registration of all commercial motorcycles within the state, in order to put in place necessary security measures for both operators and members of the public.
At the point of registration, motorcycle operators will be captured into the state database, through their biometrics. They will be given a security card and a reflective jacket which is uniquely designed with special numbers imprinted on it. As soon as one picks an Okada, he/she can send the number of the jacket to a short code and immediately, the Name, Address, Date of Birth, Next of Kin and other relevant information about the operator will be received. In fact, for those with smart phones, even the picture of the operator will be displayed within seconds.
Worthy of mention, is the fact that this service is toll-free, which means whether you have credit on your phone or not, the information will be displayed. Thus, you can easily distinguish between an authentic and a fake commercial motorcycle operator even before you board, for security reasons.
Furthermore, this will help the BIRS in the collection of daily tolls (presumptive tax of #50 daily) from commercial motorcycle operators. The moment one pays via the POS device, his tax history will be updated and at the end of the year, a summary of how much he has paid over time will be generated.
TAX INCENTIVE
Presently, there is an on-going exercise, put in place for property registration across the state. For those who will register their houses, cars and other properties, like the operators of motorcycles and subsequently pay their taxes on same; a reward awaits them at the end of the year. There will be a lottery for those who will comply with this registration and religiously fulfill their tax obligations. Many will stand the chance of winning a house, car, motorcycle or any other prize as an incentive from the BIRS.
CLOSURE OF ALL REVENUE ACCOUNTS OPENED WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION
The Executive Chairman of BIRS, banking on the powers bestowed on same in the State Revenue Administration Law 2015 as enshrined in section 6, subsection i (after prior notice to all MDAs) instructed all the 23 banks to freeze all revenue accounts opened by MDAs without the authorization of BIRS and transfer all funds to the consolidated revenue account (insuring the principle of TSA). This action was greeted with fierce opposition and some MDAs gave a counter instruction to their respective banks.
BUILDING AN INSTITUTION
There is absolutely no doubt, that the marriage between principles and policies as made manifest by Mrs. Mimi Adzape-Orubibi has begun to yield fruits; fruits that will last. The incumbent Executive Chairman is building an institution that will be solidly grounded and will serve the taste of time; with or without her. She does not intend to put structures in place that will only function when she is present. What she is struggling day and night to do, is to make sure that these policies are perpetually in place ad infinitum, whether she is there or not, things should function the right way, without any fear of the unknown. Indeed, only a system built on the tripartite but inseparable foundation of transparency, accountability and selflessness can work this way.
CONCLUSION
This struggle of Mrs. Orubibi is not a time wasted as positive results have started coming in the area of improved internally generated revenue. With the leakages blocked, there is a tremendous improvement on the monthly average of #230 million.
Ultimately, it cannot be taken away that the political will of Governor Samuel Ortom and his commitment to revenue security has helped in the actualization of whatever success has been recorded so far. Mrs. Orubibi has come under severe attacks lately, owing to her stand on transparency via the introduction of the POS device as a revenue collection tool. But with the support of the governor and the protective care of the all-powerful God in whom she trusts, she has been moving ahead.
To say I will pen down all that Mrs. Orubibi has done in the last 100 days, I must be eternal. This is because they are too numerous to be chronicled via this medium. Thus, these are just a few out of the uncountable.
Long Live BIRS!
Long Live Mrs. Mimi Adzape-Orubibi!
Long Live Governor Samuel Ortom!
Long Live Benue State!
Terna Francis
Media Assistant to the Executive Chairman, BIRS
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