ODAHIEKWU OGUNDE, Yenagoa
The Bayelsa State Government has charged various revenue generating ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to redouble their efforts in the drive to improve the internally generated revenue (IGR) of the state.
Deputy Governor Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo gave the charge while declaring open the ninth Bayelsa Tax Advisory and Review Committee (TARC) meeting in Government House, Yenagoa.
Ewhrudjakpo reminded members of the TARC that it was high time they explored new and better ways of generating revenue in order to boost the revenue profile of Bayelsa.
He pointed out that the state was not where it was supposed to be, in terms of income generation, noting that Bayelsa’s IGR would not rise until better methods were employed.
Ewhrudjakpo, who commended members of the committee for their support and contributions to the implementation of the present administration’s fiscal policies in 2021, implored them to be more passionate about their responsibility this year.
The deputy governor, who is the Chairman of TARC, urged the committee to scale up efforts in their revenue drive to enable the government to pay workers’ salaries as and when due without depending on monthly federal allocations.
To achieve this, he said some tough and proper decisions would be taken not only to expand the state tax net but also identify and plug areas of revenue leakages in the system.
The Deputy Governor, however, assured the law-abiding and tax paying public of the present administration’s readiness to eradicate multiple taxation as part of its investment promotion strategy.
“We still have a lot to do to increase our IGR. We should be able to pay our workers’ salaries as a state with what we generate even though we may not be as well resourced as some states in the country,” he said.