Guardian

From Hendrix Oliomogbe, Asaba

IT was with high optimism that the Delta State Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan, announced his budget for 2009 last December. Christened Budget of Sustainable Development, it was passed by the House of Assembly last February 12 and signed into law a month after. However, almost on year on, a visit to some selected projects showed that there is very little or in some cases nothing on the ground to show for the N237 billion that was appropriated. From the creeks of Oporoza, Warri South West Council to Agbor in Ika North West Council, and all the way to Ibusa in Oshimili North Council, Ogwashi-Uku in Aniocha North and Obior, Aniocha South Council the story was basically the same; woeful and abysmal failure.

Hard truth is that most of the contracts were allegedly given out to friends and family members of top government officials, who end up executing them shoddily. Besides, some government officials also double as contractors, giving credence to the notion in certain quarters that "it is a government of contractors, for contractors and by contractors."

At the famous St. Thomas's College, Ibusa, for instance, all that is visible for the N13 million naira budgeted for 2009 is an uncompleted block, said to be the Science Laboratory building. The other structure other is a 40.5x 15.0 hall, with partitions for offices and toilet facilities, which is still at its foundation stage. Yet the contract was awarded, according to a government source.

As is customary, there was no information about the contractors handling the projects, just as there were no project sign post.

As for the proposed laboratory, part of the building has since caved in. A source explained that the Science Laboratory project, which began in 2005/2006 at an undisclosed amount of money, was initiated by a former legislator in Oshimili North Constituency in the Delta-State House of Assembly, while the contract for the Examination Hall project was awarded to a serving legislator.

At the neighbouring Ogwashi-Uku, the contract for the renovation/fencing of Nshiagu College was also poorly executed. Three buildings were supposed to have been renovated. The name of the contractor is shrouded in secrecy. Of the three buildings selected, work has been done on two. One is a block of six classrooms while the other is a block housing the Principal and Vice Principal's offices as well as two Staff Rooms.

When The Guardian visited the college on rainy day last week, the roof of the 'renovated' building leaked heavily due to the shoddy work done by the contractor. Chairman of the school's Parent Teacher Association (PTA), who would not want his name in print, complained that the two renovated blocks were now worse than they were before the renovation.

According to him, the buildings were re-roofed about three years ago with corrugated iron sheets by the PTA and were in perfect condition. Unfortunately, he noted, the contractor replaced the iron sheet roof with long span aluminium sheets, which marked the beginning leaking, whenever it rains. "This situation has compelled the Principal and the teachers to relocate their offices to a classroom which they now share as general office," he said sadly.

A perimeter fence was to have been constructed round the 39 year-old school, according to the budget. However, except for a 2.6 meters fence with a height of 2.6 metres, and a length of 113.2 meters at both sides of the school's entrance gate, there is nothing else to show for the N25 million project. The PTA Chairman explained that the school, which was established in 1970 had been without fence, thereby exposing the school compound to trespassers.

At Ika Grammar School, Boji Boji Owa, which was established at Independence in 1960, most of its physical structure have dilapidated over the years due to lack of maintenance. The biggest structure in the school is a storey building, which houses some classrooms and the administrative block. The ceiling of this block has gone so bad that most of the rooms are now without ceiling. Even the ceiling of the Principal's office is currently in a very sorry state.

It was for this reason that a N45 million contract for the renovation of two blocks of 15 classrooms, two buildings of seven offices and four water system toilets was awarded. Going by the extent of work done so far, there is no doubt that the rescue mission has recorded tremendous success.

This was confirmed by some top teachers in the school who, because of Civil Service Rules and Regulation, would not want their names in print. They expressed satisfaction with the nature of renovation work done so far. They however pleaded with the state government to do more "in order to restore the old glory of the school."

Pursuant to the Niger Delta Citizens Budget Platform (NDCBP)'s mission of promoting transparency and accountability in governance in the country, with special focus on resource revenue and the Niger-Delta region, the Programme Officer, Mr. Ken Henshaw, said that he undertook a tour of some State government's projects budgeted for in the2009 Budget, and that he saw when he surveyed the landscape was "government failure and disillusionment due to the inefficient monitoring of contracts," which, he also argued "are highly inflated in the very first instance."

Henshaw said that from the extensive monitoring exercise which he embarked on, it was quite clear that the citizens still see the government largely as an alien body. "They lack the knowledge of the role of the citizenry in a democratic society and do not understand that it is right and a civic duty to participate in the monitoring governmental activities," he said.

Again, the NDCBP scribe was alarmed that highly placed individuals like College Principals, Medical Officers, Teachers, and Clergymen have very little or no knowledge of government's Budget System/ Fiscal Regime. More than 90 per cent of the people interviewed from the class noted above, demonstrated very low knowledge of issues bordering on Government's budgetary framework.

He said: "The citizens still see Government largely from the colonial and military dictatorship orientation. Those begged to be given the mandate to represent their people are now revered as lords. They are the government contractors and they give the people the impression that whatever service delivery they receive from their own government should be seen as token of magnanimity of those in positions of authority, who though went to Government as representatives of their people, but now turn lord majesties and custodians of benevolence.

For the Transparency, Accountability and Good Governance campaign efforts of the NDCBP to have the expected impact in the Niger-Delta and the country at large, Henshaw recommended among other things an open Budget Advocacy among the citizens. "They should be encouraged to actively engage in open debates at the community levels on the issues of Government Budget, its formulation and implementations, as well as the expected roles of the citizenry in the entire process," he insisted.

The activist said that the Delta State Government, having passed and signed into law, the Fiscal Responsibility Bill, should be urged to implement its provisions by establishing the Fiscal Responsibility Commission with representations from the Platform.

Henshaw said that the platform should engineer an effective channel and platform for constant dialogue with the Government of Delta-State as well as set-up a multi-stakeholders form for engagement and interaction on the issues of resource revenue management.

He advised: "The NDCBP Budget work must be redesigned to track every aspect of the Annual Budget." He also attributed the poor budget performance to the lack of Open Budget System in the state. Most alarming, he affirmed, "is the high cost of executing government projects which are always outrageous in sharp contrast to the prevailing market prices."

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