By Callistus Agwaza, Jalingo
The poor state of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in Taraba State has become a source of concern to the government.
Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Hon. Solomon Elisha expressed concern over the poor IGR of the State at a press conference in Jalingo.
Elisha who said the state was projected to generate N9.277bn in 2021 however, said deliberate policies were being put in place to boost the state IGR.
“From our projection this year, 36.64 percent of our expected revenue would come from statutory allocation, 14. 67 percent from internal loans, 10.6 percent from Value Added Tax (VAT), 8.80 percent from capital receipts, while our IGR is expected to bring in the least revenue of 6.55 percent.
“This is worrisome and you will agree with me that there is the need for a paradigm shift from dependence on external sources to the internal sources.
“There is need for all hands to be on deck to explore the abundant untapped resources so as to actualise our dream of becoming the leading economy in the northeast sub-region.
“Already, government has set up a committee to look at how to boost our IGR, block all leakages and make the state IGR independent,” he said.
The Commissioner noted that the 2021 budget was focused on completing all ongoing projects across the State in spite of the economic downturn and COVID-19 pandemic.
Our correspondent reports that this is the first time in five years that the Taraba is projected to generate N9bn which can not pay the state workers salaries for three months.
The highest revenue the state has generated within the period has not been more than N5bn.
