The much-maligned Efris might have suffered a bigger blow than it can immediately feel after the man who has been explaining its nitty-gritty decided he has had enough.
Ibrahim Kibuuka Bbossa, the amiable Uganda Revenue Authority publicist, has called time at Nakawa after nearly three years of leading the Public and Corporate Affairs Division of the Taxman.
PR and marketing expert Bbosa became URA spokesperson in late 2021 after leaving Uganda Communication Commission for the more ambitious Assistant Commissioner of Public and Corporate Affairs in the Commissioner General’s office at Nakawa.
The former Uganda National Bureau of Standards and Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Ltd publicist has been at the helm of URA’s public-facing initiatives during a period of significant transformation led by Commissioner General John R. Musinguzi.
Among his most tenacious work demands was having to explain almost daily that the electronic receipting system Efris was not a new tax but a measure of enforcing compliance.
Traders took to protests about Efris largely due to misconception about what it really is.
Accessible and friendly to the media, Mr Bbossa has been known for promptly responding to inquiries on digital media platforms and extending the same responsiveness to media inquiries, which not only made him popular with the media but also brought URA closer to the citizens.
During his time at URA, Bbossa will be remembered for his involvement in various initiatives, including the ‘Mpa E Receipt Yange’ campaign.
This campaign focused on promoting the use of e-receipts among Ugandans and was the first integrated marketing campaign implemented by the Uganda Revenue Authority.
It involved reaching out to all regions of the country to encourage the adoption of e-receipts.
Bbossa said he has realised early in his URA tenure that there would be no effective public relations execution for a revenue body without effective tax education.
In his vision, he prioritised taxpayer education over tax payment demands. It is this same zeal that saw him transform what was initially a unit within the Public and Corporate Affairs Division into a fully-fledged division.
As the pioneer leader of the Tax Education Division, serving as the first Assistant Commissioner at the time of his resignation, Bbossa leaves behind a well-equipped team with the technical expertise and skill to spread the message of tax education to every household in Uganda through a robust tax education and taxpayer engagement strategy.
However, the now former mouthpiece of Caesar was coy about his new destination, saying simply that “You’ll know soon enough. We are going to be working even more closely.”