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E-government And Internally Generated Revenues In Nigeria
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1.2 Statement of the Problem
Despite the popularity, potency, and
precision of e-government, it is yet to be adopted and explored in
Nigerian governance system. A visit to the government departments in
Nigeria is a nightmare; it is characterized by a lot of paper work, long
queues, bureaucracy, cramped spaces and a lot of frustrations. With the
growing demands of citizens and changing global rules and regulations,
the Nigerian government as a matter of necessity must explore a
transparent and accountable medium to deliver its statutory mandate to
its citizens at the right time and quality.
The link between
e-government implementations and internally generated revenues (IGR) is
generating some interesting debates. Many scholars have argued that
e-government is still a new phenomenon. That it is still very much
unclear and complex how it can boost revenue for states and local
councils. On the other side of the swing, analysts and political
watchers counter-argued that e-government has spin-off effects, and that
the more ICTs are used for government businesses, the greater the
impact on revenues, transparency and accountability (Nkwe, 2012; Kaaya,
2011; Bellamy and Taylor, 1998; Ebrahim et al., 2003).
The reliance
on statutory allocation to perform basic functions by states in Nigeria
is total. Many states rely almost exclusively on this handout from the
federation account as basic operations cannot go on without the monthly
allocations. This has partly helped government officials to pay little
attention to growing the economic base that would help them to become
independent (Agu, cited in Oseni, 2013). He went further to note
e-government is yet to be incorporated in IGR planning and collection
approaches. Officials rely mainly on physical visitation, memos and
letters to notify tax payers. The taxes collected are mainly in cash
thereby creating opportunities for embezzlement. These shortcomings
often lead to multiple payments of tax and harassments.
At the local
government level, internally generated revenue is the primary source of
local government sustenance. But the capacity of local governments to
generate revenue internally is one very crucial consideration for the
creation of a local council. Local governments now face more challenges
in terms of struggling to be less dependent on the center and the state
for financial resources hence the need for them to place, as a matter of
urgency, a topmost priority on their internal generation efforts.
The
current structure for IGR across boards lack the capacity for revenue
base data collection and analysis; lack register of revenue customers
and information system; poor collection and analysis of performance
data, lack performance evaluation against targets; poor method (being
cash-based only) of generation; poor internal control and financial
reporting; lack transparent accounting; lack a documented action plan
for improving its collections; poor internal organizational arrangement
for revenue generation among others (Eze, Omole, Onyinka and Okonji,
cited in Nnanseh and Akpan, 2013). It is against this backdrop that this
study aims to investigate the relationship between E-government and
Internally Generated Revenues with a special reference to Egbe/Idimu
Local Council Development Area (LCGA).
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