Rivers State Government, says it has saved about N34 billion for the state’s monthly N1 billion compulsory saving scheme started about three years ago.

The Commissioner for Finance, Dr Chamberlain Peterside disclosed this on Monday during an interaction with newsmen in Port Harcourt.

Dr Peterside explained that the state government spends about N8 billion monthly on salaries, pensions and overheads, stressing that with the dwindling allocation from the Federal Government, there was need to scale up efforts at Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

He hinted that Rivers State had the potentials to generate about 50 per cent internally like Lagos State that generates about 70 per cent internally to augment its federal allocation.

The Finance Commissioner said the state internal revenue sources generate about 10 per cent and attributed the lapses to leakages in the system, noting that strategic plans had been put in place to halt the trend.

According to him, the Ministry of Finance had undergone transformation in line with the vision of the governor to be transparent and accountable, emphasising that the accounting system had been modernised to meet global best practices.

Dr Peterside hinted that the ministry had taken over the pay rolling of workers’ salary since June 2012, and commenced the issuance of pay slips to workers, adding that the computerised system of record keeping would help in detecting errors in the process.

On government borrowing, the commissioner debunked insinuations that Rivers State Government was broke, pointing out that the borrowing was to finance specific projects to completion level and not to pay workers salaries.

He said the state government operates a centralised fund system for all arms of government which helps in proper categorisation of liabilities, noting that fund releases start with budgetary provision and due process before payments are made.

“In course of harmonisation in the system, we discover that some people in say level 8 or 9 take the salary of grade level 13 or above, but all that has been corrected and we shall no more have such kind of fraud, we are trying but give us more time,” the finance boss said.

Also speaking, the Executive Chairman, Board of International Revenue, Mrs Onone Osila Obelle-Oshoko said the board was trying to rebuild the confidence of residents of the state to pay their taxes.

She noted that the old tax system in Rivers State allows 5 per cent of workers basic, that is not found in any law but the current tax regime is based on the Gross Income as contained in the amended Tax Law.

The chairman harped on the need to enlighten the public by giving the right information, emphasising that the state was endowed with potentials to increase internally generated revenue.

Meanwhile, the Rivers State Government has signed an agreement with a United States firm, International Trauma and Critical Care Centre Limited (ITCC) to recruit staff and manage two world class hospitals, Professor Kelson Harrison’s Hospital and Maxilo-Facia Hospital in Port Harcourt.

The Commissioner of Health, Dr Sampson Parker, who signed the agreement on behalf of the government with the group at the Ministry of Health in Port Harcourt, said the agreement was to hand over the operation and management of the two hospitals for effective management and maintaining international standards.

“Our vision to allow an experienced international firm to run the hospitals was not to have gain, but to have quality and standard healthcare that would discourage people from going overseas in search of standard treatment.

We carefully selected ITCC group, an international medical group from among the bidders internationally, as the best experience in hospital operation and management to run the hospitals to international standards, where people all over the world would be coming for medical care, this is exactly the vision of this government under Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi”, Dr Parker explained.

The commissioner urged the firm led by the Country Representative, Dr Sydney Ibeanusi to ensure that the vision of the state governor, Rt. Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi to have quality health care was achieved.

He said, though the hospital would be completely run by the firm, which also has the power to recruit, sack, maintain and manage the hospital, the state ministry of health through the Hospital Management Board, would be playing the supervisory role on the hospitals like any other hospitals in the state.

According to the Health Commissioner, the two hospitals built and equipped a year ago would be commissioned before January, 2013.

He said the Prof Kelson Hospital is situated at the former Niger Hospital, at Emenike Street, Mile II, Diobu, Port Harcourt while Dental Maxilo-Facia Hospital is at Aba-Road, Opposite Garrison in Port Harcourt.

Dr Parker further disclosed that the hospital would also accommodate free medical, as money would be paid by the state government to the management of the hospitals for any free medical treatment referred to them.

Signing the agreement with the state government, the representative of International Trauma and Critical Care Centre Limited (ITCC) and National Project Co-ordinator, Dr Sydney Ibeanusi commended the state government for its commitment to give the people of the state and the country an international quality healthcare facility.

According to him, ITCC firm was an articulate concept to partner with professionals around the world to see how it could give out an international quality healthcare to the developing countries around the globe as it was the practice in developed countries like Israel, Russia, Europe, America, among others.

Dr Ibeanusi who noted that Rivers State Government was the first to embrace the group in Nigeria, promised to ensure an available, accessible and sustainable international quality healthcare that would meet the vision of the state governor.

He said with the signing of the agreement, the two hospitals would be put into effective operation before January 2013.