*Digitization is our bedrock to building a transparent, accountable leadership
The Governor of Enugu State, Barr. Peter Mbah, has stated that aside entrenching the principles transparency and accountability in all governance structures in the state, he is in a hurry to create a culture of adopting Information Communication and Technology (ICT), to grow $30 billion economy for the state.
Mbah spoke to journalists during the All Nigerian Editors’ Conference hosted by the state government in Enugu over the weekend.
The Governor explained that the huge infrastructures being executed simultaneously across all the wards in the state are possible due to methodical planning and execution, bearing in mind his desires to leave a lasting legacy that will continue to serve the needs of the people.
Governor Mbah also debunked insinuations that his administration is over-taxing the residents, pointing out that all his administration did was to spread the tax net, while creating fresh opportunities to enable people make more income and be able to pay tax.
He also added that his administration optimised the deployment of ICT in revenue collection, stressing that the method which plugged loopholes, saved billions of Naira that hitherto were embezzled or diverted.
According to him, “we don’t have to rely on third party funding to do what we’re doing. Since we came in, we’ve increased our internally-generated revenue.
“When we came in, the highest we did as a state was about N25 billion in terms of our IGR, annually.
“But this year’s IGR projection is about N600 billion. We’re likely going to achieve, if not exceed that figure.
“Sometimes, there is a misconception that we increase the tax rates and there are huge tax activities going on in Enugu. But that’s a misconception. There’s no such thing.
“What we actually did was to expand the tax net. So, we brought in those who were not captured or who were not in the tax net into the tax net and we then also ensure that our processes are automated.
“So, where we in the past, dealt with the collection through manual or through cash, we had to stop all that to ensure that payments are now made through electronic or digital platforms and they go straight into the government account.
“Largely, we are just plugging the leakages and expanding the tax net. We’ve been able to grow our tax rate to over 200 fold”.
He stated that by their estimates, “as of May 2023 we’re expecting N571 billion this year. It is about 2,000 percent increase from where we were”.
Speaking on why he embarked on the ambitious construction of Smart Green Schools in all the 260 wards in the state, he told the Editors that leaders of tomorrow must grasp the initiatives of ICT and entrench such technology early enough.
“Take for example, it is projected that five years from now, AI is going to contribute $20 trillion to the global economy.
“So, the question you ask yourself is: how are we preparing our children to acquire the skills to be relevant in this new world order?
“Therefore, we felt that the best thing to do is catch them at that very young age.
“The Smart Green Schools initiative is thereore, designed to make sure that we get the index child at age three.
“We equally know a number of these children may not have adequate medical records. So, we have in each Smart Green School, a clinic, with a Registered Nurse.
“Just recently, we won the Spencer Foundation Vision Grants. This is in recognition of what we’re doing and the basic education experiential learning,” he stressed.
He mentioned the setting up of a Center for Experiential Learning and Innovation (CELI), through which about 18,000 of the teachers are being trained.
The Governor also emphasised that his administration was “strengthening institutions by building the capacity of the civil servants through digital training theough e-governance in the over 111 MDAs in Enugu State.
“Even our financial manual is also a major part of our governance philosophy bothering on transparency and accountability. Therefore, we have a system that whatever accrues to the government as revenue is seen and known by all. And it is not something anybody can alter. So, there is actually a digital tree to all that.
“When we came in, a lot of those things were done manually. But we had to digitize them.
“Even our financial report is something that you don’t have to wait till the end of the year to have.
“You get a monthly report of what accrued to the government as revenues, and what those funds have been spent on. So, you can actually do a trail and within a portal you can view all that.
“That’s part of what we believe that if we can build the capacity and strengthen these institutions, we can then sustain this,” the Governor stressed.
Mbah also spoke on what he called the establishment of “Land Bank” for commercial farming across the 260 wards in the state, inviting those interested in investing in agriculture to come to Enugu and invest.
“I think at the last count, over 67,000 of that 300,000 have already been taken by investors; and we have quite a number of interests queuing up,” he said.
He equally spoke on the reforms he brought to the now Enugu United Palm Products Limited, through Pragmatic Palms, which invested 60% shares in palm plantation of close to 10,000 hectares.
Speaking on bringing health care to every nook and crany of the state, Governor Mbah said his administration was building a Type 2 Primary Healthcare Center in each of the 260 wards to take care of primary health care of the people, instead of leaving the them to rush to Enugu at the slightest ailment or patronize quack health personnel.
On the massive infrastructure projects going on across the state, he said, “If we’re going to grow this economy to $30 billion, you must be able to then provide access and provide the infrastructure.
“So, we’re already thinking ahead and providing this New Enugu City. There is no other like it in the country currently because it’s going to be fully serviced.
“Your water, electricity, your seawage, your telecom, the fiber optic, internet access, the gas pipe are all going to be provided.
“You just go to your plot, you plug and play. You don’t need to go in there with your generator. There will be no such thing”.
