Pecohub Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State has said the state government is owing pensioners in the state over N14 billion.
Mr Soludo disclosed this while inaugurating a nine-member committee for State-Local Government Joint Account (JAAC) in Awka on Monday.
“We are going to be employing over 4,000 teachers. It will be charged to JAAC. Meanwhile, we have over N14 billion debt in terms of arrears to gratuity and pensions. Part of it, we have started to pay and so on and so forth,” he said.
The governor, who decried scarce resources in the state, asked the committee members to assist in finding solutions to the financial crisis in the government.
“It is going to be a lot of hard work. Major challenges in the finances of the state and local government. And you have been called upon to find the solution,” Mr Soludo told the JAAC members.
Mr Soludo also said the infrastructures at various headquarters of local governments in the state which were razed by gunmen have become part of the workloads of his administration.
He said the staff members of the local governments were no longer going to work due to destruction of their facilities.
“The infrastructures in the various local governments including the ones that have been burnt down need to be repaired,” he said. “We are going to set up a local government administration. That’s definite.”
The governor urged the JAAC committee to develop a new local government system with a financing framework in the face of current scarcity of funds.
“We are seeking to have a local government that truly works. For us, we have a vision to have responsibilities devolve to base and have a local government that is empowered from the base, to deliver development to the grassroots,” the governor stated.
He said the devolution of responsibilities between the state and local governments can create “a lee way” for the governments to raise their own revenues.
“We are trying to devolve the responsibilities, (Like) waste management and security, because we are now doing security at the community level, issues of environment and so on and so forth,” Mr Soludo added.
