Gov. Alex Otti of Abia says he is committed to revolutionising the state’s hospitality sector as part of a broader plan to drive state-wide economic development.
Otti disclosed this on Thursday during a meeting with the Hotel Proprietors Association in Abia at the Government House, Umuahia.
The governor, represented by his Chief of Staff, Dr Caleb Ajagba, said that technology remains central to the Rebuild Agenda of the present administration.
He urged the hoteliers to modernise their operations and service delivery in order to attract more customers.
He said that the State Government seeks a productive partnership with the private sector, because collaboration remains key to achieving sustainable growth.
The governor said that a tech-based system for hotel ratings, advertising and increased visibility would be introduced to allow potential guests to evaluate facilities beforehand.
“There are certain facilities that you have to advertise that will make people evaluate and rank your hotels even before they come.
“That’s one thing government wants to do – to inject technology in driving Abia’s economy and this will not be done without your productive collaboration in this matter.
“We’re using money to get money. Therefore, if we want to upgrade and upscale the services, the facilities will also be upgraded.
“Government is out to partner the entire private sector in order to drive this.
“The government cannot create all the jobs, but we will be able to do that in partnership with the organised private sector.
“We are all pursuing the same vision and goal in order to make sure that the hotel business in Abia is upscaled to measure up and match what is obtainable in the international ecosystem,” Otti said.
He acknowledged the hoteliers’ concern about multiple taxation and assured them of his administration’s commitment to providing a solution.
He emphasised the need for government and businesses to collaborate and described the existing synergy as crucial for a mutually beneficial outcome.
In separate remarks, the Commissioner for Environment, Mr Philemon Ogbonna, and the General Manager of Abia State Environmental Protection Agency, Mr Ogbonnia Okereke, described taxes as the government’s share of the wealth it had created.
They explained the details of the taxes payable by the hoteliers which, they said, were in line with the Abia State Environmental Law 2004 as amended in 2013.
They also said that the State Government had improved tremendously on sanitation and waste management and called on the hoteliers to cooperate with the government.
Earlier, the Chairman of the association, Chief Chidiebere Obasi, and the Chairman of the association’s Board of Trustees, Eze Nzenwata Mbakwe, appealed to the government for a review and streamlining of tax payments.
They said that an adjustment would ease the operational burden on their businesses and expressed the confidence in the government’s economic agenda.
