Princewill Odidi|22 March 2016|6:50am
Looking inward on our local potentials, harnessing local manpower and being frugal with expenditure, improve on local taxation and levies even though it will hurt the common man on the short term, but will definitely improve internally generated income, and improve our domestic economy.
It is important we review the state civil service, purge out ghost workers, merge departments and agencies to avoid duplication of functions, improve on policies to create a new diversified economy focusing on local mining and agricultural cash crops, either for export or national consumption, strengthen local government income generation, incorporate and strengthen the roles of traditional rulers to guarantee peaceful coexistence among local communities.
It is important to improve on policies and programs that will open up the local economy and reduce the human capacity of the civil service and political hires to its barest minimum and to a more manageable and efficient size.
New cities development is a great idea, but don't forget to revisit our villages and small towns. Improve on public utilities like transforming pit toilets in our villages to modern toilets, improve on pipe borne water and modernize our local farming methods. Provide improved seeds to our farmers, it is important our villages are developed and converted to new cities rather than the creation of new cities that may not add value to our local people and may end up being too alien to our traditional cultures and traditions founded in our local villages.
Depend less on international financial support to salvage the economy, it always appears juicy on the short term, but will destroy our economy on the long term. At least we can learn from Imo and Osun states. Our forest represents wealth, let us use it to bargain in exchange for development infrastructure.
Our youths have faith in the administration, it is important we do not fail or dash their hopes. Our cocoa and palm plantations should be revisited.
Tourism once thrived in our state, let us revisit our cultural heritage and restore our pride and regain our status as the cleanest state in Nigeria.
The believe that criticisms are meant to bring down a government is sheer ignorance, constructive criticisms makes a responsible government revisit her policies and make sure the people are carried along.
The strength of our economy does not lie in the meager size of our federal allocation, neither does it lie on the burden of our debts, the strength of our economy lies in the determination and potentials of our people.
All hands must be on deck. To make Cross River State great again, is a task that must be done.
Princewill Odidi
Writes from Atlanta.