4 YEARS AS THE HEAD OF
FIRST TAX ADMINISTRATION IN
BURUNDI (OBR)
Bujumbura, June 9th 2014
CREATION OF THE OBR
• OBR became the principal agent for tax collection in
Burundi following enactment of the 2009 legislation.
 The
OBR mission is to assess, collect, and
comprehensively administer and account for all the tax
and customs revenues
 Although the OBR is the agent for tax collection, the
Ministry of Finance (MoF) determines tax policy. The OBR
is obliged by contract with the MoF – the contrat de
performance – to meet strict performance targets,
MY APPOINTMENT IN JUNE 2010
• The UK’s Department for International Development (DFID)
supported the creation of the new institution and this
support was then passed on through TradeMark East Africa
(TMEA).
• After
competition, I was appointed as the First
Commissioner General of the Office Burundais des Recettes
on June 16, 2010
• Courageous decision by the Government to appoint an
expatriate as the head of the tax administration in Burundi
STATUS AT MY ARRIVAL
• Only the EMT and SMT members were already appointed
• In other words, OBR had no staff
• Old fashioned and outdated tax laws
• Negligent behavior and corrupt tendencies amongst OBR
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•
•
•
•
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officers;
Closed offices contributing to corruption
Resistance to change
Most of the OBR activities were manual
Poor working conditions ( No computer, few desks for staff)
Trade facilitation programs inexistent
No clear vision and mission of the institution
STATUS AT MY ARRIVAL- PART 2
• Old fashioned revenue collection systems and procedures
• No Code of Conduct
• Communications deficit
• No capacity building Plan
• OBR working in different sites
• No collaboration or consultation with the private sector
• Very Poor service delivery
• Last but not least, revenue collection Bif 301 billion
MY FIRST TASKS
• Build the tax administration from
scratch;
• Sit with my senior staff and design
the first five year Corporate Plan.
OTHER PRIORITIES
• Get the technical assistance to support OBR;
• Eradicate any kind of corruption in the institution, starting
with establishing a new Code of Conduct and an obligation
for any OBR staff to declare assets
• Convince the OBR Board and staff to have open plan offices
to reduce corruption
• Recruit more than 400 staff in a open, transparent manner;
1. Building tax systems
2. Domestic resistance
3. Donor resistance
4. Way forward
WAS IT EASY TO INTRODUCE ALL THESE
REFORMS?
 THE ANSWER IS NO
 At the beginning of any kind of reform, people tend to resist to change
 However, with time and seeing the excellent results, I began to feel a sense of
ownership
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists
in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on
the unreasonable man.
• George Bernard Shaw
REVENUE COLLECTION FROM 2009
TO 2013
• From 2009 (our baseline) to 2013, revenue
increased from BIF 301.21bn to 559.51bn, i.e. an
85.75% growth rate
• For the second time in a row, OBR has collected
Half-a-Trillion Burundi Francs.
• This milestone has been reached in November and
this is the first time ever in Burundi these results
are achieved in such a short period of time.
• The graph below illustrates this increase
GRAPH ( FROM 2009 TO 2013)
OBR revenues (BIF bn)
600
527
560
472
500
363
400
301
300
200
100
0
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
REVENUE COLLECTION AT THE END
OF MY CONTRACT
• Revenue collection results for May 2014 show that OBR
collected BIF 40.30bn.
• Cumulatively, OBR has now collected BIF 241.16bn since the
beginning of 2014. This is 3.59bn above cumulative targets
(+1.51%) and 21.07bn above cumulative 2013 results
(+9.72%).
• OBR is now on track to collect in six months revenues that
used to take a year to be collected in 2009, before the
creation of OBR.
OBR contribution to public expenditure
800
80%
700
75%
600
70%
500
65%
400
60%
300
55%
200
50%
2009
2010
2011
2012
OBR collection (A)
Total public spending domestically financed (B)
OBR contribution (A/B)
2013
OBR's contribution rate
BIF bn
OBR's contribution to total public expenditure
NON REVENUE ACHIEVEMENTS
• Doing Business Index: Burundi advanced 19 places in the
World Bank’s Doing Business Index and, for the third year in
a row, placing the country amongst the top ten best
reformers in the world. OBR has played an active part in
this achievement by working closely with other agencies.
Most notably, it carried out the establishment of the Single
Window for Business Registration, the creation of three new
OSBPs and the development of new tax procedures derived
from new modern tax laws.
FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION- EABI
REPORT
Trade facilitation
• It is now possible to register a business inside one hour in
Burundi – a huge advance on the time taken previously.
• ASYCUDA World computer system (Automated System for
Customs Data) became fully operational in May 2013. This
gave the traders the possibility to conduct customs
clearances online. Additional systems were rolled out and
these enable online communications from Burundi all the
way to the ports of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam
• We now have a much simplified tax system with lower tax
rates in line with the rest of East Africa and we have
removed many small taxpayers completely from taxation.
Trade facilitation initiatives
• One Stop Border Posts –These are currently located at the
borders of Kobero, Gasenyi and Ruhwa. These sites were
selected to enhance trade facilitation by combining border
control activities at one location, share border control data,
and reduce the time it takes to clear passengers and goods
at the border
Trade facilitation initiatives-Part 3
• AEO: Aimed at establishing a partnership with
International Trade Operators to secure and facilitate global
trade. OBR Customs are now in a better position to exercise
controls on imports and exports without compromising
trade facilitation and security
• The EAC’s Single Customs Territory was adopted. As a result,
all 5 EAC Revenue Authorities are now working on
integrating customs clearance processes and reducing
internal border controls on goods moving between Partner
States
Modernization of HR
• Initiated a new OBR structure taking into account the needs
of the organization and the best practices ;
• Institutional Restructuring and right-sizing;
• New HR policies and procedures introduced;
• Leadership and Management Training : two leadership
development programmes were designed and facilitated by
advisers between 18 and 26 August 2012. All OBR
Commissioners and Directors participated in this course;
Improved Communication
• Series of education and sensitisation campaigns is now underway to address the
wide range of target audiences identified which includes the general public,
media, specialised and technical groups and public officials.
• Employing a unique range of communications tools to aid this - leaflets, banners,
flyers, public service announcements, media slots, radio dramas, seminars and
workshops, door-to-door campaigns and market-place visits.
• OBR’s recently launched pilot Call Centre operation;
• a monthly newsletter targeting government officials and other external
audiences and
• OBR website operational in both English and French versions;
• I take this opportunity to thank the USAID and TMEA for its support to improve
OBR Communication Strategy
Quarterly briefing with media
Computerisation of the OBR services
• With UNCTAD technical assistance, the old Asycuda ++ was
been upgraded to the most recent version, which is Asycuda
World
• A commercial ERP software was selected and implemented
to manage Finance, HR, Payroll and Procurement
• Taxpayer registration is managed by the systems in place in
the Domestic Tax Department and a Revenue Collection
System has been developed internally as an interim solution
• This will be replaced after the selection and implementation
of a new Integrated Tax Administration System (ITAS) that is
planned for Phase Two.
Focus on training
• A training department was created
• OBR has new staff who constantly need to be trained;
• Sister Revenue authorities have supported OBR
• In 2013, 386 employees, or 61.9% of the total received
training on various topics to improve the skills of the OBR
staff
• The next step is to have a recognised training Institute
WAY FORWARD
• With my contract coming to an end in few days, I wish all the
best to the next Commissioner General of the OBR
• I hope the positive results ( both in terms of revenue
collection and other reforms) that have been achieved will
continue to go on,
• OBR is now on track to collect in six months revenues that
used to take a year to be collected in 2009
• I expect that in 2019, OBR will collect 10 times what used to
be collected in 2009 ( This is possible, case study : Rwanda
Revenue Authority)
THANKS TO
• Government and Ministry of Finance
• TradeMark East Africa, who provided support in the areas of
technical assistance, computer systems and hardware, OneStop Border Posts and other infrastructural enhancements;
• Co-operation, UK Aid and USAID and also to our many other
partners, such as the IMF, the World Bank and the African
Development Bank;
• The OBR Board, OBR Staff, Media, taxpayers, private sector,
civil society
TEAM EFFORT
• None of the gains made would have been possible
without the hard work and team work. This is our
great strength. The excellent working teams we have
created (EMT, SMT and Advisers) plus the atmosphere
of trust and common purpose has really driven the
OBR to the success it has demonstrated.
MURAKOZE CANE