Dr. Peter Mbah has promised to pursue an infrastructural revolution in Enugu State by turning the state into one huge construction site.
Mbah who spoke after his swearing in said his administration will prioritize road construction and infrastructural renewal ensuring that Enugu roads are well paved.
“Where necessary we shall construct flyovers and dualise roads as a remedy to any gridlocks,” he assured.
“We shall run an inclusive government designed to accommodate all citizens of Enugu State.
“Our transportation blueprint is comprehensive and holistic. We will have a multi-modal transportation system, a monorail to connect cities in Enugu and even go a step further by partnering with other governments in the Southeast in connecting us with our sister states.
“We are committed to the strengthening of our institutions. The judiciary, legislature and public services will receive the needed propellers as lifters of our dream. We will provide the right enablement to ensure justice is dispensed as speedily as possible. In this regard, we will digitize and digitalize the judiciary, so as to make the management and procedures in our courts more efficient.
“Our approach to tackling insecurity in Enugu State will be by adopting the kinetic and non-kinetic models and approaches. We will strengthen community policing architecture; neighbourhood watch and forest guards. In this mode, we will deploy modern technology such as CCTV cameras and others, as well as establishing a command-and-control centre in Enugu State, so as to track perpetrators of crime who we will pursue and bring to justice.
On how the projects would be funded the new governor said he will open Enugu State up for the influx of investments and investors.
“Our ambition is to have our state as the corridor where the private sector migrates and plays. We will strengthen internally generated revenue, not by increasing tax rate arbitrarily but by expanding the tax net, plugging loopholes of leakages, as well as by operating a lean and agile government.
“We will also, within our first 100 days in office, convene a Diaspora and Investors Forum where we will market all the productivity sectors in the state through showcasing our huge investment potentials.
“Our government will also organize what is called the Diaspora Bond where we will securitize remittances from abroad. In this regard, remittances will no longer be for consumption alone but for production. Government will create a platform for securing those remittances so the investors have security for their funds.
“The governance philosophy of our administration will be based on transparency, accountability and fund traceability. Part of this philosophy is collaboration and partnership with CSOs and the private sector.
“To demonstrate how persuaded we are about doing this, as I leave here now, I will head for the office to perform my first executive task as your governor.
“That task will be to sign Executive Order 001. It is called the Citizens’ Charter. It demands that we manage your money, the people’s money, in the people’s interest. This Charter holds me and members of my team to account on your funds. The Citizens’ Charter mandates us to provide detailed information on our public financial management system, report our revenue to you in detail and ensure that we adequately capture our expenditure. The Charter demands, in the same vein, that our expenditure is consistent with government priorities.”
