Cross River govt to tackle revenue leakages through full automation

The Cross River state government is planning to tackle revenue leakages by implementing a technology-driven approach to revenue collection.

The state government, which saw a 60.6% surge in its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) amounting to N36.3 Billion, is considering automation to prevent revenue leakage to corrupt individuals and ensure more funds are retained by the state.

During a media parley to commemorate the one-year anniversary of his administration, Governor Senator Bassey Otu outlined his accomplishments and future projects. He mentioned that the state has implemented full automation to enhance the monitoring of key revenue-generating Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).

He also said that there will be deployment of necessary measures to track and collect revenue from the micro and small businesses in rural areas across the state.

“With these high-tech measures, revenue collection is tracked in real-time and leakages are blocked where necessary.

“Our target deliverable is to reduce the tax burden on the citizens and tap from the hitherto dormant revenue sources.

Relatively, the governor revealed that the State Government has honoured its debt and contractual obligations to the tune of over N55 billion naira from the inception of his administration to date.

“Government has also reactivated the State Reserve Fund account which at present has a balance of 3.7 Billion Naira saved for the rainy days.

“We have also initiated the process of valuing critical assets of the State which will invariably expand our investment portfolio,” he said.

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