A gubernatorial aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senator Gershom Bassey has unveiled a ten point development plan to reposition Cross River State in south-south Nigeria come 2023.
Senator Bassey, who represents Cross River South in the Senate, said that the blueprint was hinged on the mantra, ‘re-imagine, revive and restore‘ the state and its economy.
Bassey said that when voted into office, the economic blueprint would be driven by a special strategic team to “revive and build our economy” .
According to the senator, the 10 point agenda include, “increase the state Gross Domestic Product (GDP) through value added economic activity in agriculture, tourism and the extractive, manufacturing and services industries.
“Grow the state Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) through a well-structured and consolidated system to boost state revenue.
“Develop effective human capital development interventions and business friendly incentives to attract investment and business activity.
“Create opportunities for the youth and unemployed to grow an economic acquire in-demand and high value that would adequately equip them to compete in the global market and gig economy, boosting the State GDP through foreign exchange earnings.”
Others include, “target the creation of skilled and unskilled jobs per annum. Design a transparent procurement process for awarding state government contracts that adopts international best practices and implements affirmative action for indegenous contractors.
“Design indigene-6 centred policies to foster economic growth across the local agriculture and manufacturing value – chains. Secure the provision of financial and technical support for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and startups within the state.
“Invest in professional training and in-demand skills acquisition programmes and collaborate with Federal Government to ensure the Calabar Port is re-opened for economic activity”.
The senator added, “my record qualification, capacity and unparalleled empowerment programmes within the State will speak for itself, regardless of the opposition. I know where and how to turn the fortunes of our dear state around, if given the mandate. I will continue to engage every stakeholder I need to engage.”
Confidence Okwuchi
