Rivers State: The Bill On Illegal Development Levy By Nwaorgu Faustinus Chilee
As a person, I have seen, witnessed and heard how a few individuals impose illegal development levy by force on land developers, landlords, landladies etc, who want to either erect fence, sink borehole, mold blocks or dig foundation of the building without being punished by the suitable authority. I therefore heaved a great sigh of relief when I learnt that a bill on illegal collection levy from land developers will be passed into law which will put an end to the collection or rather imposition of illegal development levy known as “matching ground or bush entry” among other nomenclature given to it by the extortionists. It was the activities of these (extortionists) that made me to do a piece in March 2009, entitled Illegal Agents and Development Fees (Matching Ground) which was not published.
Here under
is the piece:
Over the
years, communities who are development-conscious have devised ways to
enrich their revenue base through the payment of one form of levy or the
other to provide town halls, borehole and to renovate dilapidated
community markets. Such levy can be in the form of money
paid for the use of shed in the market, payment for the purchase of water
from community boreholes and so on.
The agents
who are alleged to be cannabis addicts, do move around the estate to
collect development fee popularly known in Port
Harcourt as “matching ground”, and are ever ready for
a showdown with anybody that does not come up with the development fee.
One instance will suffice.
I was a
close observer to what happened to a young man simply identified as Ikenna
Amaechi, who resides in the estate. On march 10,2009, to young men
identified simply as Austin and Eze stopped block molders that were
molding blocks at the site of one Mr. Ogbonna Amaechi the elder brother of
Ikenna, saying the owner of the plot has not paid his development fee.
Ikenna tried to convince them that his brother has settled their
“Chairman” but they (development fee collectors) said that their chairman
did not settle them. In the ensuing argument, Austin and Eze pounced on
Ikenna, beat him black and blue and almost had Ikenna’s ear bitten off.
The way and
manner the agents go about the collection according to the residents lack
accountability. It is the believe of the inhabitants of the estate that
the fee derive from the payment of “matching ground” goes
into private pockets instead of using it for the overall good of the
community.
It is also important to draw the attention of the state government and the local government that oversees the collection of revenue from traders at the Oil Mill Market on Wednesdays, on the activities of agents that impose multiple levy on petty traders at the market. The manner the agents go about the collection of levy leaves one to wonder if the money collected eventually gets to the appropriate authority. It is therefore important to monitor these agents and to put suitable mechanism in place, judicious levy collection devoid of any underhand dealings or corruption.
To conclude,
my commendation goes to the state government and members of the state
house of assembly as they initiate and pass into law the bill on
Illegal Development levy in the state. As the inhabitants are
watching how the government will tackle this problem, there is no better
time to act but now. |