Anambra State Governor, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo has from the beginning stressed that he would disrupt the former process where all manner of people pose as collectors of government revenue. According to him, government cannot continue to allow its due revenue to disappear from all corners especially now that federal allocation has dangerously dwindled because oil money has dried up. Government must now depend entirely on Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) that is sourced through taxes, levies, tolls, etc. It would, therefore, be suicidal for the government to sit idly by while different persons siphon the needed money to work for the people. It is in the light of this that the government has dutifully put in place a more efficient digitized system for paying money directly into its coffers.
The government’s overhaul of the transport sector is actually meant for the drivers and sundry transport owners to pay reduced fees directly to the government. This will reduce paying exorbitantly to underhand middlemen who end up cheating the transporters while remitting little or no money to the government. The government has, therefore, worked arduously to digitize the revenue process to block leakages. And while the government engaged in putting the digital revenue process in place, it allowed almost a four-month tax holiday for the transporters and other affected unions. Government engaged the market leaders and transport unions in town hall meetings to explain the nitty-gritty of the new digital process that would actually ensure that transport operators paid less taxes and fees by paying directly to the government.
The agreement was that the monthly due will be paid as as follows: motorcycles (okada) N7,000; tricycles (keke), N15,000; taxi, N17,000; township bus, N30,000; shuttle bus; N25,000; mini truck and pick-up van, N25,000. To make it easier: An Okada operator that pays the bulk sum of N21,000 for three months will get a discount of N1,500 and if he pays for six months, he gets N4,500 discount. The Keke operator who pays N42,000 for one-quarter gets a discount of N3,000 while if he pays the half-year due of N81,000, he stands to gain a discount of N9,000. The Shuttle Bus operator who pays the N70,000 one-quarter payment gets a discount of N5,000 while if he pays the half-yearly payment of N135,000 he gets N15,000 rebate.
The benefits of making the payments include: getting a card and sticker that permits the person to operate unhidered, enjoying discounts, driving into any government park to load and offload passengers; protection by the government such that he will not be intimidated, harassed or extorted and also any other benefits as would be announced by the government.
To be able to sustain these obvious reductions in tolls, government has to collect this money in lump sums to enable it improve the parks with modern facilities and conveniences, employ those that will manage it and engage a team of State Task Force to remove the middlemen and touts who have been harassing commercial drivers on our roads, parks and markets.
Truth of the matter is that the tariffs rolled out by the government is below what the transporters used to pay on a daily basis. The new dues from the government is calibrated such that monthly and multi-monthly payments attract very juicy rebates and discounts as it is done in the civilized world. Anambra people are the most widely traveled in this country and it is incumbent on us to lead the way in Nigeria by living like civilised people.
By removing the touts from the roads, the fee charged by government is even lower on a day-by-day basis. Through the digital process, the government can account for all the money collected and deployed to the service of Anambra State by constructing ultra-modern roads and bridges, improving health care, ensuring that our children get quality education and providing sundry infrastructure.
When a direct payment to the government is made effective, Ndi Anambra will have the moral justification to hold the government accountable. In return, Anambra State would in due course be turned into a prosperous and pleasurable smart mega-city in line with Governor Soludo’s master plan for the State.
Written by SIR PAUL NWOS
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