From Idu Jude, Abuja
The hospitality industry in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, may not be having the best of times. This is because of the hostile business environment in which it operates, typified by unregulated multiple taxations. This is the view of Fumi Kassim President of Hotel Owners Forum Abuja (HOFA). The woman, a lawyer, insists that, as a result of the unfortunate development, the business which many used to see as a cash cow has now become an albatross.
There seems to be this general complaint among your members over unregulated taxation in the FCT. What does that mean?
With regards to multiple taxes on daily basis, it is like when we are close to heaving a sigh of relief, another one crops up. In recent times, we had a meeting with the AMAC (Abuja Municipal Area Council) Chairman. The meeting was a fruitful one. We discovered that the man has a progressive mind. But what we noticed was that there are people who do not want things streamlined. Take, for instance, the issue of multiple taxations. During the meeting, we agreed to collapse all the taxes into one pool so that we will not have to go through the payment of the tenement rate, environmental rate, waste disposal rate, security and healthcare of our staff and all that. But, recently, we started seeing different bills flying about, like before. The AMAC Chairman expressed surprise, because the whole thing looks cumbersome. Let me also add that our meeting with him was concluded at the point that the infusion of these taxes under one pool begins by January 2023. As it stands, our members are still being served with different bills from different agencies of FCTA and Abuja Municipal Area Council, Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), all at the same time. We are presently being weighed down by a plethora of court cases emanating from various FCT agencies at the same time. These things are done as if there is no regularisation of operations in the FCT.
Are you saying that several agencies under the FCT administration collect taxes for the same purpose?
It is so alarming that we have to take our complaints to the minister. He shut the door against us. But the good thing is that the AMAC Chairman has shown concern. He told us that he was not aware of the court actions against our members. In an effort to help us out, he also demanded that we submit to his office all the documents emanating from the court and we are working on that. He also told us that our members should pay no money into anyone’s account except the one directly from AMAC.
On the issue of waste disposal, we find it difficult, because, one day, AMAC representatives would come with charges on waste. On another day, Abuja Environmental Protection Board would come for the same thing. Before now, the AEPB had been the one evacuating our waste. It is so bad that we are now like the grass that so many elephants fight upon. While the fight was on, we got information that they agreed among themselves that the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) should now be in charge of all environmental activities within the city centre while AMAC should be in charge of area councils and other satellite towns. We also wait to see all these promises work because this is not the first time it has come, yet nothing was implemented. Now that we have been told to make sure that all our outstanding taxes are cleared to begin one single pool of taxes by January, 2023, we hope that the multiplicity of taxes from different FCT agencies and AMAC ends.
But the government alleges that your members fail to declare profits and losses at year-end as others do?
It is not true. That is why we were alarmed when they asked us for automation after-tax profit and loss declaration. We queried the rationale behind the directive. Why the automation, what for? These people come to check our records and our members have been complying with that in the aspect of financial records. That is why we are uncomfortable when they came up with the idea of installing Apps in our systems to regulate our income and expenses. They forget that we are not government establishments. You can see how our members are being taken for a ride as far as FCT is concerned. Our union always complies with any suggestion that will be of synergy with the government to improve our status. But those unholy ideas that were brought in to tamper with the privacy of our business and our guests will not be allowed, because if such happens, the guests would flee, which means the end of our business. The privacy of our guests is also important. And it is of international standard.
How often does this round of taxation happen?
When we say unregulated, it means it has no time process. You can see them now as we are talking. I don’t know whether they have records. Just last week, another group came up with the issue of paying security fees despite our collaborations and existing deeds with the FCT police commissioner, as well as other security agencies. We know that there are insecurity challenges across Nigeria and more especially in the nation’s capital. We understand the need for such in our business, and we are doing that to ensure the safety of our customers. But, recently, a group of people came up with a proposal for the installation of security software for a certain amount for all hospitality industries in the FCT. We view this as direct extortion. We don’t know whether it was approved by the authority or not. Sincerely as the president of this body, I don’t know anything about it. When the man came up with the idea, we gave them the assurance to key into the programme with the condition that such must have come from either the FCT Commissioner of Police or the Inspector General. We sink with it because we wouldn’t like any criminal or Boko Haram suspects to be discovered in our facilities. We are ready to cooperate. But then we insist that our customers should not be extorted with payment of N1000 security fee while checking in. This is because we are taxpayers and if such a thing should be implemented then it should be deducted from the taxes we are paying so far. So asking us to add another tax of 1000 security fee is not a good idea. That is where we are now.
The FCT authorities also allege poor quality standards among your members, how true is this?
The issue of standard practice is the key to the hotel business and, of course, anyone who falls below standard feels the impact, because no holiday or pleasure seeker would like to repeat a poor experience. Apart from that, the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) also has recommendations. Among this is the need to ensure staff regular tests and proper health conditions. There is also the need for a clean and serene environment and regular training of staff for improved quality services. We also have in-house training because we want to remain in business. Whatever regulations, we try as much as possible to adhere to avoid clashing with the authority. As much as I know, none of HOFA membership falls below standard because I sit on each case that comes.
In essence, what are the critical challenges that your union is faced with?
I can tell you that if the Minister of FCT fails to address this issue, Nigeria may be involved in an unemployment implosion. We have been seeking an audience with the Honourable Minister, but have failed. This is another reason some of us quit the business. We have tried several times to meet with the FCT minister, with a series of letters. I have also used every means possible to meet with the minister but to no avail. We tried to pass through his personal assistants. But it failed. We also tried the Director of DOAS, to see if there is any way possible to air our plights and the present the state of our business and how it may eventually affect the IGR of the FCT if the system collapses. What I was told was that I am a member of TAC and that all my views must be channelled through it. I did all that but nothing changed to stop the incessant and untimely billings.
Could you throw more light on the controversy over the issuance of a new operating licence?
It is worrisome, and we are not taking this lightly. It is a question of the authority finding a lasting solution or having many of us, if not all, quit operations in Abuja. Amid this confusion, a new order came that we should be issued with operators’ licences in the FCT. That is, apart from the CAC registration, the liquor and other licences. After that, we wrote them back demanding an explanation for the new request because till now we have failed to comprehend the real importance of licence registration of our business. We do not know of other licence registration as business enterprises after CAC. But they were giving us examples of medical doctors, lawyers and so on who are licensed. This issue is more complicated because the letter came from the FCT administration.
You talked about staff welfare. What is HOFA’s stance on that?
When you talk about staff welfare, overstretching of staff beyond the official working hours and non-payment of service charges, I should be able to tell you that many of our union members struggle today to remain in business and this is a fact. If some of us should stick to rules guiding the hotel business, then we may end up losing customers to others who are waiting to accept such just to remain in business. Concerning the talk about service charges which is the percentage increase in activities carried out in a given month, you will see that not all organisations would want to comply with the payment of additional money when hosting events in certain hotels. Take, for example, some NGOs who always claim that their activities are charitable donations. We sometimes take such businesses in order not to lose such to other awaiting hands. When people hear about the hotel business, they do not know what people go through just because they want to remain afloat. Most of the money coming in does not stay in our accounts. Once it comes in, it goes out to other things like public relations activities, and to people and corporate bodies who are regular customers. And if you don’t do it, you will not get any business. So it is a proper Nigerian thing where you must romance the ego of your customers to have them again.
What is your leadership relationship with the tourism industry in FCT?
We really have a robust relationship and if the government does the needful, the industry will boom, because the business is interwoven. It is quite erroneous when people say that the FCT does not have tourist sites. It is because some of us are not conversant with the activities and plans going on. There are actually beautiful tourist destinations in the FCT. We are appealing to the federal government to please come to our rescue and save our business. Look at the hospitality industry, using the FCT as a case study. We are the major force in the employment of labour. If all hotels in the FCT alone, excluding other states, decide to close shop, there will be unemployment trouble in the Nigerian labour market. So with the record of being the highest employer of labour across the 36 states and FCT, we should be enjoying tax waivers, as in sane societies. Instead, we have become cash cows. They fail to realise that we are the goose that lays the golden eggs. We must be taken care of to remain alive.