Obi1kenobi:


Is that by published statistics or is your own concocted fact? And why would you measure the progress of the state by the failures across the SE zone rather than against successful states like Ogun or Rivers or Delta or even Kano? Are you well at all?

ANSMEDIA:
Nethwood cinema opens in the city of Awka

OMANBALA1:
The amount Anambra generate in IGR is unbelievably poor and embarrassing. It's either the state is not as viable as we tend to believe , people are getting away without paying taxes nor something is wrong with our arithmetic. I believe the second is likely the case. If not, tell me how a state as industrialized as Anambra is competing for place with Cross River and co. Obiano is beginning to look like a failure.

OMANBALA1:
The amount Anambra generate in IGR is unbelievably poor and embarrassing. It's either the state is not as viable as we tend to believe , people are getting away without paying taxes nor something is wrong with our arithmetic. I believe the second is likely the case. If not, tell me how a state as industrialized as Anambra is competing for place with Cross River and co. Obiano is beginning to look like a failure.

OMANBALA1:
The amount Anambra generate in IGR is unbelievably poor and embarrassing. It's either the state is not as viable as we tend to believe , people are getting away without paying taxes nor something is wrong with our arithmetic. I believe the second is likely the case. If not, tell me how a state as industrialized as Anambra is competing for place with Cross River and co. Obiano is beginning to look like a failure.

jamjo:




The problem is not only in Anambra but all Southeast, and believe me Southeast is as viable as SS or even more, It is just our visionless leaders who don't think outside box. Imagine if they can implement an effective properties tax collection system statewide, when I said statewide, including the villages. If they can collect between #100 to #5000 every month from all the houses that scattered all over our towns and villages in Igbo land and up the tax collection in other areas to at least 60% believe me Abuja money will be the money for the rainy days.

mktinsight:


Obiano is a former accountant and it is shocking that his administration is highly disorganized, corrupt and incompetent. He has basically allowed the urban core of the state to degenerate into lawless chaos, filth and disorganization under his watch while deflecting criticism with his flyovers and other grandiose projects.

You would think that someonoe who professed to be revenue driven could be this bad. But not surprising since his appointment of people into agencies is more about sentiment than delivery. For example, I once had a chat with a manager at the State Inland Revenue Service and raised several questions :

1) I asked how many industries and businesses are registered in Anambra, their sizes and revenue. They had no idea.

2) I asked what was the revenue of MAIN MARKET or EKE AWKA MARKET. They had no idea.

3) I asked them how many working adults are living in the state and their means of employment and income. They had no idea.

4) I asked them how many properties there are and types in the state. They had no idea (even though there is an agency called APLUC).

Now if they you have no data on all of these indicators then how can you be serious about tax collection? And without tax how do you expect to make inroads on basics like education, health or infrastructure.

From my own estimates about what I know about Anambra the state should be able to raise at least 50 billion a year if they made an effort. There are around 4 million working adults in the state with around 3 million living in urban areas. The urban dwellers should be paying a minimum of 10,000 to the state in income tax or around 30 billion. Now when I raised this with the AIRS man he asked me how. I said why not create a state ID and register everyone. Tie the state ID to physical businesses that people operate, to their residences. All those individual shop owners would be required to pay 10,000 to the state. Businesses with less than 10 employees would also be required to pay 10,000 per employee. This is unassessed tax. From 10 employees upward then you assess the companies for PAYE tax. That would reduce the number of businesses AIRS would assess to probably around 5,000 companies.

As a strategy the state is supposed to be using IGR to pay workers salaries and maintain its offices and use federal allocation for infrastructure and critical services.

OMANBALA1:
The amount Anambra generate in IGR is unbelievably poor and embarrassing. It's either the state is not as viable as we tend to believe , people are getting away without paying taxes nor something is wrong with our arithmetic. I believe the second is likely the case. If not, tell me how a state as industrialized as Anambra is competing for place with Cross River and co. Obiano is beginning to look like a failure.

ANSMEDIA:
Obiano To Inaugurate 2018 Anambra Trade Fair, Dry Season Farming Today In Onitsha

mktinsight:
Like I said the Obiano administration is corrupt and incompetent. Just look at the IGR.

IGR in Anambra was 10 billion in 2014, 14.8 billion in 2015, was not reported in 2016, and was 17.36 billion in 2017. But already with the end of 2018 approaching it is clear that IGR will drop drastically in 2018 probably to around 15 billion.

Meanwhile just consider how other states have fared. Look at Kaduna for example that had LOWER IGR than Anambra in 2015. Its IGR in 2015 was 11 billion, in 2016 it was 17 billion, in 2017 it was 26.5 billion.

The question is what did Kaduna do that Obiano's revenue service did not do:

1) The Kaduna State Government has only ONE authority that collects tax KDIRS. They digitized and automated tax collection. Meanwhile, Anambra State government resorted to using "Agents". These corrupt "agents" have clearly diverted huge sums of revenue from government coffers.

2) Kaduna clamped down heavily on street trading, hawking and okada while under the ANSG that and illegal parked vehicles have taken over the streets of commercial districts in Anambra creating chaos and chasing away profits for formal business that pay taxes.

3) Law Enforcement has collapsed under the ANSG. The Ocha Brigade, ATMA are all corrupt entities doing little enforcement but lining their pockets creating a poor business environment.


Going forward, I recommend that Obiano get serious with his next three years in office. The state should be doing at least 36 billion if it created the right environment for formal business to flourish. For example, PAYE Tax which is the largest source of revenue for Lagos is based on 24% of personal income. You cannot get much tax from wheelbarrow hawkers. You need to attract real organizations that pay decent salaries for PAYE tax. The state has absolutely no idea how to get these companies even as it is sitting on a gold mine with Onitsha (a major distribution point). Just attracting the likes of PZ Cussons, Indomie, and other consumer good companies to the state would yield massively for the state government not 1,000 wheelbarrows lined up in front of Ochanja.

As it is, Enugu gets quite a lot of IGR because it hosts the factories for Coca Cola, Nigerian Breweries, Seven Up and others. This is despite the fact that Onitsha has a natural location advantage with access to water (from River Niger) and distance to key markets around. But real investors run from chaos. MTN's regional headquarters is based in Asaba not Onitsha, Glo's is based in Enugu.

Obi1kenobi:


I tire sha o. It's baffled me for years how a comparatively viable state cannot generate significant revenue, and gets beaten in revenue by states like Kwara and Cross River. After, Ipob noisemakers will be shouting "Biafra or Death" when we're still parasites that depend on handouts from the Federal Government.

Obi1kenobi:


Is that by published statistics or is your own concocted fact? And why would you measure the progress of the state by the failures across the SE zone rather than against successful states like Ogun or Rivers or Delta or even Kano? Are you well at all?

NonsoWow:
This is very commendable. A lot of Anambra indigenes are heeding to Obiano's policy of Aku luo uno. Awka now has a cinema while the one in enugu has since closed down due to lack of purchasing power by wawa people and the fact that many people are relocating to Awka from Enugu due to lack of water in enugu town.

jamjo:




The problem is not only in Anambra but all Southeast, and believe me Southeast is as viable as SS or even more, It is just our visionless leaders who don't think outside box. Imagine if they can implement an effective properties tax collection system statewide, when I said statewide, including the villages. If they can collect between #100 to #5000 every month from all the houses that scattered all over our towns and villages in Igbo land and up the tax collection in other areas to at least 60% believe me Abuja money will be the money for the rainy days.

Obi1kenobi:


It's a combination of the first 2. One, Anambra is not nearly as developed or industrialized as many like to claim. I always laugh at the grandiose claims of many Anambrarians here like claiming it's the most industrialized state after Lagos, when Ogun beats Anambra hands down in industries. Secondly, it should still be doing far better than it's doing with a more visionary, resolute, diligent, organized leadership. But Peter Obi was more interested in boasting about how much he saved and how little he borrowed, than generating revenue. Obiano seems to think building flyovers and bridges is all governance is about. Hence, far too few Anambrarians pay tax. My father who owns blocks of flats in Nkpor says he has not paid tenement rate on any of them in ages. It seems the government thinks extorting motorists with an army of touts is the only way to generate revenue.

omadeltason:
i don't think that house owners pay taxs in Anambra state only in Enugu state that some residents house owners pay tax

omadeltason:
this guy is an impostor coward tout be warned afonja man Anambra state beat Ibadan and ogun state hand down in terms of industrialization. That is facts and nothing else.

nnamdijonathan:


IMO state generated more money in just 6 months of 2018 than what it generated in the entire 2017. How did this even happen? Anambra generated less same with Enugu, Ebonyi, and Abia. I doubt these figures are genuine, SE governments are releasing fraudulent and fake figures.

omadeltason:
my brother I can tell you some of Igbo men prefer to live in Awka than Enugu I know most of them especially wawa people Awka is now city but only why I love Enugu is because of real estate raising up there Enugu is our capital but before 5 years coming Awka will beat Enugu hand ✋ - � down

ANSMEDIA:
Anambra is fast developing a strong monolithic economy

ANSMEDIA:
Pictures from yesterday's opening of Anambra International Trade fair in Onitsha. The trade fair of last year was held in Awka. Onitsha is hosting the one of 2018