FYI http://www.post-nigeria.com/tsa-scam-remita-sends-sos-to-buhari/
3 Likes
I still keep going back to how this money was collected before Remita was contracted to do this job ( my best guess, probably spread out to different banks, charging 1% or more)
Now, how much will be said to be ideal, 0.00001% or less?
How much would a foreign company equivalent have charged?
Did the FGN save money taking it and at from the different banks and letting Remita handle the whole?
Was there any case of poor job done ?
My feeling here, was that whoever signed the deal at that point was quick to do so in other to have transparency, efficiency and probably also save the FGN some money. The 1% seems huge because the money entered just one pocketā¦
ā¦poor negotiations, corruption, back handingā¦should be torch lighted after we have established the above.
Thank you my brother.
This is like asking why does Nigerian government lend to its banks at 2% and borrow money at 13%. Why does Nigeria subsidize petrol imports instead of fixing its refineries. Why does Nigerian government spend more on 469 legislators than on the Ministry Of Works with over 35,000 km of poorly maintained roads? Many of you here are in IT, Nigeria depended on slow satellite connections for internet up until private mobile operators showed up because government owned NITEL never built anything despite over 10 billion dollars given them over 30 years. And people have the temerity to blame systemspecs? CBN couldnāt have built a solution even with pots of money thrown at the problem. They are too corrupt and stupid. After all CBN is what happens when you hire on relationship basis and quota just like most of Nigerian government.
Buhari should give systemsspecs back the money and fire everyone from Emefiele to the rest of senior management responsible for payments. They should also investigate Sanusi and Tunde Lemo. But being Nigeria this probably will not happen.
From my limited knowledge of this contract this is what I think.
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Sometime in 2012 System Specs had a contract with FG to effect electronic settlements of government fees and other expenses using their Remitta platform.
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The contract terms awarded 1 percent of the amount paid using the platform to the Vendor (System Specs).
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At the time of the contract, this sort of settlement was done by different financial organizations who had license to use the settlement platform powered by NIBSS Real-time Gross Settlement Scheme.
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Any other financial organization was free to enter a contract with the FG at any time in any of the ministries and parastatals as long as you could meet the requirements, as well as agree to the contract terms.
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However, with the new government things seemed to have changed. All the banks and financial institutions which hitherto enjoyed a settlement contract, would no longer benefit from this due to the TSA as only one account would be used for settlement.
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I donā know how Remitta landed the deal to be that sole company that handled the settlements for new governmentās TSA.
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With such a development you are bound to attract envy and jibes from those who have lost their position in the settlement contracts.
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It could easily have been MasterCard, InterSwitch, First Bank, etc that got the contract to handle the TSA and they would expect their 1% commission on each transaction.
In all of this, I think we all can learn from this event. Those of us who vilify the man and those who vindicate him should know that it could easily happen to anybody.
Your may have a contract thatās giving you a profit with say one branch / parish / district of an institution. Then suddenly they decide to adopt your solution for the entire organization. Thatās the time when a small business stands a chance at leaving the SME title and becoming a big business. Pray that you get to this point in your toils.
Fast forward a decade from now and this could easily have been a Paga vs Federal Government of Nigeria, and the naysayers would be all hoo-ha.
But System Specs isnāt a startup; I believe they already know these things and are well prepared for any outcome.
9 Likes
I have read this trend and have a few angry comments ā¦
In as much as I think FGN should honor her agreement and pay up what was agreed till date, I think all those that were involved in the agreement on the FGN side should be arrested.Do we know how much 1% of FGN funds is worth? so far they have not started collections, all they are doing now is sweeping funds from Banks to CBN and they have charged 8 billion. They were to do Collection, payments and sweeping. Sweeping is the least profitable of all the tasks.CBN has guidelines on epayments, no payment is without cap why should FGN payment be capless. Why should CBN have a share in the fee?
The problem with Nigerian Companies is we allow blood corrupt politicians and individuals who have influence to scata our reputation because we want to make it big overnight.I know some pple will come with an argument that remita has been around for 20 years.Were they doing payment for 20 years? remita was known for payroll until they stuck a deal with Wema bank. What is Remita annual Profit in the last 3 years , I doubt it is up to 8 billion? How do u make 8 billion on one transaction and you are happy? this kinda of money should make you scared and call for a renegotiation or downward review of the fees. How do u decide to take out major players in the industry and expect not to be hunted.
For me, Remita brought all this woes on themselves by being greedy. Advice for Startups, donāt bully bullies, find your niche and gradually work your way. As far back as last year january, remita was busy taking over Interswitch and other players Govt businesses all over the place with CBN ābackingā. As at that time Interswitch had invested millions deploying infrastructure in MDAs like Customs, Firs, NPA. Remita did not have a working system in place but still disrupted payment in the MDAs. why the big bois were begging to have the crumbs from the Remita table.
I always knew this arrangement would not work, the only logical thing for remita is to go to court to get their 1% charge for the 2 months of work and honorably walk away.