Commentary: Helping To Improve The IGR Of Government

WRITTEN BY ANTHONY OBIORAH
Recently, the Commissioner for Industry, Trade, Commerce and Wealth Creation in Anambra state, Dr. Christian Madubuko, and his team, recovered over two hundred million naira, which was defrauded the state over the years by some corrupt traders in markets across the state.
It would be recalled that the Anambra state government has been engaging the corrupt traders in fierce war for some months now, leading to the arrested and hand over to security agents of the Chairman of a market union and his five agents who specialized in unauthorized reprinting of the state government’s tax receipts in China and selling same to the traders. They also specialized in illegal collection and diversion of stall and development fees.
According to investigations, Anambra state government has, from 2015 to date, lost billions of naira to fraudulent traders, resulting in dwindling Internationally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state. Another four-man gang who defrauded the state of about seventeen million naira in Ogbaru main market was equally arrested few weeks ago.
It is instructive to note that the state government had been warning corrupt traders in the state to shun illegal reprinting and counter signing of the state’s official tax, stall and development receipts. Luck, however, ran out of three traders who went to the office of a top government functionary to bribe him with about fifteen million naira. They were arrested and hand over to the Police for prosecution.
Consequently, recalcitrant Traders should know that the game is over. The wrath of the law will surely catch up with any trader found guilty of diverting government funds into his or her private purse. As Governor Willie Obiano is striving to introduce major reforms in markets across the state, traders should reciprocate the gesture by paying their taxes and levies as their civic responsibility in order to double the state IGR base of the state.
In order to raid markets in the state of hoodlums, all hands must be on deck to enable the state government actualize its dream of making the state the envy of all. Governor Obiano has promised to install CCTV and other modern devices in markets to monitor activities and check crimes in the markets.
Market Executives, Security agents and indeed the whole traders are expected to key into this ongoing fight against fraudsters in the markets. They must be fished out for prosecution. More so, for the state to be first choice investment destination and most preferred location to site new factories and to create socially stable business friendly environment that will attract both indigenes and foreigners to seek wealth creating opportunities in the states as contained in both vision and mission of Governor Obiano’s government, the people of the state should, as a matter of urgency, unfold their hands and ensure that the few cabals in markets and those in government do not milk the state dry any more.
Ndi-Anambra should collectively say no to extortion of money from innocent people, especially traders, imposition of illegal tickets to the masses, using the names of communities or associations as authority back up for illegal collection of levies, diverting government money to private pockets and non-remittance of legitimate government revenues as and when due.