From JUSTINA ASISHANA, Minna
NOBEL Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka yesterday lamented that corruption has become a unifying factor and a language easily understood by Nigerians.
“Corruption unites us, very few things unite us in Nigeria as corruption does,” he said.
The Nobel Laureate said that instead of corruption to be treated with total disgust, it is now a status symbol in Nigeria, stressing that this has dampened development in the country.
Soyinka who was the Speaker at the 2nd Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu National Literary Colloquium in Minna remarked that corruption is now the language being understood by everyone, saying “Corruption does not have tribal, ethnic or religious differences. It is a language understood by everyone in Nigeria.”
Professor Soyinka who decried the continuous increase in the rate of bombing and kidnapping in several parts of the country said the crime, including kidnapping and bombings were not enough reasons to claim marginalization by any part of the country.
According to him, “Kidnapping is not because of unemployment but because of greed and criminal tendency to deprive others from their legitimate freedom.”
On the spate of killing of innocent people in some parts of the north, the Nobel Laureate said, “We must be able to distinguish between taking up arms against the government and declaring war on the nation.”
Speaking on the same issue, Niger State Governor, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu said corruption should be fought with the same seriousness used in fighting terrorism in other nations.
“For us, fighting corruption with all seriousness is akin to fighting terrorism by other nations and should be our major pre-occupation,” he said.
Aliyu stated that the Second Africa Fraud Barometer findings which rated Nigeria as the most fraudulent country in Africa, the Transparency International which ranked Nigeria as the 35th most corrupt nation in the world, and the Global Terrorism Index which put the nation as the 7th most terrorized country in the world should be of concern to all Nigerians.
He therefore called on everyone to pay special attention to how Nigeria can succeed in changing the tide for the good of all.
Aliyu also expressed worry that the nation lacks effective institutions and legislations to punish culprits to deter others from engaging in crime, lamenting that, “What we get often is sensational reportage of the initial trials of corrupt public or private officials, many of whom find their ways to freedom.
“Before we make any progress at all as a nation, we must first tackle the problem of corruption both at individual, corporate and institutional levels. And we must all become whistle blowers to expose corruption and corrupt officials anywhere they may be found,” he emphasized.
Corruption now Nigeria’s unifying factor —Soyinka
20 JOSTLE FOR PDP BOT CHAIRMANSHIP …Govs, NWC meet over Adamawa crisis
From SUNDAY ODE, Abuja
AT least 20stalwarts of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have formally applied to contest for the chairmanship seat of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) scheduled for January 8, 2013.
Secretary of the BoT, Senator Walid Jibrin who stated this at a parley with newsmen yesterday in Abuja, however refused to disclose the names of the contestants.
According to him, it would be unfair to the board on whose behalf he was carrying out the assignment to read the names of the contestants on the pages of newspapers before they were formally briefed.
He added that some of the interested persons who had applied to contest were not even members of the BoT, saying that such category of contestants were either ignorant of the constitution of the party or were driven by the desire to seek popularity.
The PDP constitution says the chairman and secretary of the board shall be elected from among its members.
Senator Jibrin also said the party’s constitution did not spell out the modalities for election of BoT official in clear terms, saying that the board was free to design the procedure of the election by its members.
On the issue of zoning and the possibility of a consensus candidate, the BoT secretary said all of those decisions would be taken by the board when it met in January.
In the same vein, yesterday, representatives of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) led by its Chairman, Rotimi Amaechi stormed the national secretariat of the PDP to demand a review of the party’s decision on the Adamawa State chapter.
The PDP National Working Committee has been having a running battle with the Adamawa chapter on allegations of flagrant abuse of the party constitution leading to the dissolution of the state executive committee and appointment of a caretaker committee by the NWC.
Spokesman of the party, Olisa Metuh told newsmen after yesterday’s meeting that Governor Murtala Nyako who was at the centre of the dispute had shown remorse and that the NWC was going to consider the request of the governors in the next meeting.
Accordingly, Metuh denied insinuations of bad blood in the party over the Adamawa impasse.
In a related development the governors’ forum said it would step up further deliberations on the proposed pipeline projects under the medium term external borrowing plan with the National Assembly and the Finance Ministry.
“The Forum examined the revised proposed pipeline projects under the Medium Term External Borrowing Plan (2012 – 2014) and agreed to pursue further deliberations with the Ministry of Finance and the National Assembly,” the governors said in a resolution after their 14th meeting in Abuja, Monday night.
Jonathan presents N161.6bn supplementary budget …to settle subsidy arrears
From JOSHUA I. EGBODO, Abuja
PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has written the National Assembly, seeking the approval of a supplementary budget totaling 161.6 billion Naira to settle accumulated fuel subsidy arrears owed oil marketers.
However, with just 20 days to go in the 2012 fiscal year, the House of Representatives yesterday took a resolution that it must ensure that the 2012 Appropriation Act be fully implemented.
To this end, the House has mandated its Committees on Finance and Appropriation to compile and present a comprehensive report on the revenues, expenditures, and any unforeseen savings in the 2012 budget implementation, and carve out a solution on the outstanding capital releases in the 2012 budget with a view to ensuring its full implementation. The committees were given one week to turn in the report.
A member of the House, Abdulrahman Terab had in a motion moved under matters of urgent public importance expressed concerns that revenue “receipts so far for 2012, confirmed to be higher than what was projected for the 2012 fiscal regime,” but that “the fourth quarter capital releases made to MDAs just this December despite being inadequate on the percentage of budget implementation, were found to be inconsistent.”
Jonathan in a letter addressed to Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, and read to members at plenary yesterday explained that as part of the 20I2 Budget framework, a provision of 888.I billion Naira was made for payment of fuel subsidy for the nation, but that following the forensic audit carried out, the provision for fuel subsidy in the 2012 Budget was underestimated.
According to the President, “As at now, the sum of 880,264,243,683.61 Naira has been paid out, leaving a balance of 7,735,756,316.39 Naira. In order to accommodate the outstanding arrears resulting from the forensic audit exercise and the remaining period of the year 2012, an additional sum of 161,617,364,911 over and above what was programmed to the 2012 framework is required.
He added that “given the need to maintain a steady flow of petroleum products, especially to the run-up to the festive season, it is my hope that the Honourable members will kindly accord this request their traditional expeditious consideration and approval.”
Terab while leading debate on his motion further argued that various sums of money saved from recovery exercises, non oil excess revenues, and the 2012 unspent revenues and others like the Pension Reform and fake subsidy claims were neither captured in the 2013 budget proposals, and that neither were they provided as opening balances in the 2013 expenditure accounts.
“The executive once blamed its poor releases and subsequent implementation on constituency projects where monies were appropriated for basic grassroots social services like water, roads, schools & hospitals. This is rather unfortunate. Most, if not all capital projects captured in the 2012 appropriation will hence forth remain abandoned resulting in the waste of all the resources that we have labored to commit,” he stated.
Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, Mr. John Enoh and his Finance’s counterpart, Abdulmumin Jibril also in their separate contributions called for urgent action on the matter, as such issues of poor implementation may crop into the 2013 fiscal year if not resolved.
Jibril reiterated that all revenue generation agencies have continued to meet their monthly targets through the year.
Council polls: KOSIEC appoints 42 electoral officers
From Adama John, Lokoja,
AHEAD the Kogi State local government election slated for May 4, 2013, the State Independent Electoral Commission (KOSIEC) has appointed 42 Electoral Officers and assistants for the conduct of the exercise for the 21 local government areas of the state.
Chairman of the commission, Chief Abraham Olaniran who disclosed this while inaugurating the 21 Electoral Officers and 21 Assistants in Lokoja, charged them to uphold the integrity of the commission.
Mr.Olaniran urged them to guard against involvement in electoral malpractices, saying that as eyes of the commission at the Local Government level, they should operate as unbiased umpires.
He urged the officers to work in line with the aims and objectives of the commission especially, its resolve to make the next council polls a great improvement on that of 2008.
“We want sanity in our electoral system, we want improvement. You are to assist the commission in attaining these goals. You are our eyes and ears at the Local Government Areas.
The task of conducting elections at the council’s level, according to him, is an ardous one demanding the support and cooperation of other stakeholders.” he said.
Mr.Olaniran hinted that management of the commission had met with political parties representatives as well as security agencies in the state towards ensuring smooth take-off of electioneering activities in January next year.
Also speaking, Permanent Secretary of the commission, Mr Joseph Obaje implored the Electoral Officers to be discreet in their utterances and handling of sensitive electoral materials and urged them to always remain at their duty posts.
The commissioner in charge of Election, Mr Kehinde Asalu and the Director of Administration and Finance, Mr Oluwafemi Bobinihi urged the officers to always strife to earn the confidence of the electorate.
“You are supposed to be for all parties, alway avoid being seen in the company of particular politicians so that no one can accuse you of being partial”, they urged.
Conflict of duty; KDSG organises workshop for new LG BOSSES
From ABDULL-AZEEZ AHMED KADIR, Kaduna
In order to avoid conflict of duty, acquaint them with their duties and responsibilities, Kaduna State Government has organised a two day orientation workshop for the newly elected Chairmen and management staff of local government councils in the state.
Declaring the workshop open, the state governor Sir Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa, tasked the Chairmen on prudent management of resources, accountability and transparency within the period they have to spend in office.
“The Local Governments as I have often said are the closest tier of Government to the people, which underscores the need for quality leadership to ensure that citizens enjoy dividends of democracy. I therefore challenge all elected officials to ensure that you initiate programmes that will impact positively on the lives of your people. All programmes and project embarked upon by the previous administration should be carefully studied and completed before new ones are conceived” hr stressed.
He tasked them to take advantage of the ongoing budget process to ensure that their programmes are well articulated in the 2013 proposals. Also, in line with the state cardinal objectives of ensuring Security, Unity and Development, he enjoined them to ensure that they imbibe the same values by carrying the message down to the grass root.
“All hands must therefore be on deck towards ensuring that there is security in our localities, promote unity among the various ethnic and religious groups as well as ensure the spread of development in every nook and cranny of your Local Government Areas” Yakowa said.
He said that all the tiers of Government were facing serious funding challenges, which meant they have to look inward by harnessing all revenue from internal sources in order to reduce their overdependence on income from statutory sources.
He explained that the State Government was already pursuing a serious revenue drive to ensure maximum collection of taxes from all sources so as to bridge the funding gaps and that certain reforms were taking place in this regard in the Local Governments through the intervention of GEMS/ENABLE as well as the recently passed harmonized revenue laws and rates for Local Governments.
“With these plans fully on ground, I would expect the Local Government Councils to generate enough revenue internally to defray some of their major expenses, including payment of salary” he enthused.
He used the opportunity to remind them to take the issue of transparency and accountability seriously. “You are entrusted with the management of public resources and every care must be taken to safeguard and ensure judicious application of these resources” he said.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Commissioner for Local Government, Alhaji Magaji Sadiq Hunkuyi, said there were quite a number of reforms being institutionalized by the Ministry and the Local Government Service Commission.
He asserted that they were designed to add value to the system by improving the way they do things.
He called call on the participants to see these reforms as additional value to improve the Local Government system. The State, he also explained, was also pursuing similar reforms across its many sectors and there is the need for synergy to be created so as to strengthen the system.
He assured that the gains of the workshop would be taken beyond the four wall of General Hassan Usman Katsina House, Kaduna
The two day workshop is meant to induct and reorient the newly elected Local Government officials and management staff of the roles, duties and responsibilities expected of them as leaders and managers of the 3rd tier of Government.
It is also meant to prepare them for the challenges as well as create the needed synergy between political office holders and civil servants.
Don’t lose faith in nation , Jonathan urges Nigerians
President Goodluck Jonathan has urged Nigerians not to lose faith in the country as government was doing its best to address the numerous challenges confronting the nation.
Goodluck Jonathan said this at the 2012 Service of Nine Lessons and Carols, organised by the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and the Voice of Nigeria (VON).
The president who was represented by the Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku, Jonathan said that the present administration would not relent in its efforts to improve the standard of living of Nigerians.
According to the president, Nigeria’s challenges are not peculiar and insurmountable; they just require strong support and understanding from the citizenry to overcome them.
Jonathan said the Federal Government remained committed to the development of the economy for all Nigerians, irrespective of their status and religious backgrounds.
He urged Nigerians to use the season of Christmas to reach out to their compatriots who were in dire need of assistance, noting that Christmas was a period of love and faith.
In his Christmas message, the presiding bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM), Bishop Mike Okonkwo, urged Nigerians to use the Christmas season to reflect on the challenges confronting the nation.
He, however, urged them to stop complaining about the difficulties but to keep faith with God as no situation was too big or difficult for Him to handle.
Okonkwo called on those in positions of authority to seek God’s favour at Christmas by impacting on the lives of the less-privileged in the society.
EKWEREMADU COMMENDS GHANA ELECTION, CONGRATULATES MAHAMA
From ELEKWACHI CHINEDUM, Abuja
The Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament, Senator Ike Ekweremadu has commended the people of Ghana for, living up to their rating as beacons of democracy in the West Africa sub-region.
The Speaker stated this in a congratulatory message he sent to the incumbent President, John Dramani Mahama.
“I warmly congratulate you and the good people of Ghana for making the sub-region proud, once more, by re-enacting a peaceful, free, fair, and credible election” he said.
He also noted that the success however goes beyond who won since it is neither an individual victory for Mr President nor Ghana alone, but a victory for democracy and integration for the entire peoples of West Africa.
“This, coming on the heels of similar democratic consolidation in Sierra-Leone, counts as an additional momentum for democracy and a bold statement to the entire world that democracy and good governance has indeed come to stay in our sub-region.”
While urging the President Mahama to galvanise all Ghanaians for the progress of the West African country irrespective of political inclinations, Senator Ekweremadu congratulated the opposition for staging a tight race for the office of the President and charged them to join hands with President Mahama to continue to move their country forward.
NFF debunks rumours of teleguiding NPL
From RAMSAY UGELE, Abuja
As the congress of Nigeria
Premier League gets set to meet today in what observers have now termed a teleguided affair, the nation’s football governing body, the NFF has debunked claims to the contrary.
It’s spokesman Chief Emeka Inyama says everything is being done in the nterest of all parties involved.
The congress of the NPL made up of club owners and managers, only last week sacked the chief Victor Rumson Baribote led board in an emergency session held in Abuja alleging that the Bayelsa born football chieftain had breached some salient aspects of the rues governing the league, chief amongst which is the misappropriation of funds.
And in the place of the sacked board a six man interim management committee led by Chief Mike Idoko was instituted to run the affairs of the league body pending when elections would be held.
A development the NFF frowned at saying it ran contrary to the statutes governing the league.
Rising from an emergency meeting in Abuja last friday, the executive committee of the NFF in its resolution ordered that the congress now hold on or before the 11th of December in Abuja, while setting aside the decision that removed the leadership of Baribote claiming that the act is capable of bringing the game into disrepute in the eyes of the world.
However speaking to newsmen on the development, the spokesman of the board, Chief Inyama said: “This is not about supporting any individual or persons, but it is about doing things right , we want things to be done in a tidy way and the statutes has to be our guide.”
He said the current stance of the Glasshouse is contigent on the need to get things done properly before on the 13th of December when the NFF will be holding its Annual General Congress in Port/Harcourt.
The NFF has therefore, asked three members of the executive commitee to be part of the Abuja congress as observers.
They are Honourable Yahaya Kwande, Hon. Shehu Adamu and Chief Emeka Inyama.
This however, has elicited suspicion from some stakeholders who still believe, the NFF on its part is still not doing the right thing in keeping with the statutes, since holding a congress and choosing a venue has been taken from the purview of the NPL. Today’s congress, in the words of Chief Inyama is simply to address all perceived problems.
But one of the club chairmen from the north said on condition of anonymity: “we are waiting and watching. The NPL board had earlier chosen Kano as the host city of the aborted congress.”
Bauchi has no plans to downsize workforce —Commissioner
Recently, Bauchi state Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Alhaji Aminu Hammayo hosted roundtable discussions on the 2013 budget with stakeholders for possible inputs before presentation to the State House of Assembly for consideration and subsequent passage. During the discussions, the commissioner also fielded questions from journalists, MOHAMMED KAWU was there. excerpts:
Does the planned downsizing of the workforce by the state government indicate its inability to pay salaries in good time?
Well, I really don’t seem to understand because there hasn’t really been a plan to down size the workforce. Now in terms of payment of salaries of workers, I make bold to say go to every other state in this nation and ask when they pay salaries, and I will tell you that Bauchi ranks among the best in terms of payment of salaries on time. We may have isolated incidences, I know that last month probably we had issues, because we were trying to introduce a system that is intended to help us, make our payment of salaries more efficient and where there are wastages, there are losses, there are frauds and so on, for us to be able to address that and be able to cut these areas of wastages so that we can channel those funds into proper uses.
Now, of course anytime you want to migrate from one system to the other and particularly that system is electronic, go everywhere and ask, it is always a problem, but I will tell that we have managed it in the best possible way and we have done our best as we could to ensure that salaries were paid before Sallah. Now, I will tell you that one of the major problems that we have, and I can tell you that despite of all these we were able to pay more than 70% of salaries of our workers before sallah. The Federal government declared public holiday on Thursday which was not anticipated, we know the history of public holidays in this country, the holidays are given on the day of whatever you are celebrating and a day after. Now, in this case, it came a day before and it is our intention that even the 30% or to a very large extent, a large percentage of 30% remaining would have been paid on that Thursday. So I think that this is not a failure on our part to pay salaries and I believe that we should be able to improve and we should be able to conclude on this exercise as quickly as possible, and I believe that from this exercise we should be able to make savings that we can channel into some productive areas. And I think that on behalf of the Government I really want to symphasize with those who were not been able to get their salaries before Sallah. We have the record, we know what we have done, and we paid more than 70% and even on Thursday, some that were fortunate to have ATM cards received alerts of credits of their salaries to their accounts and they used their ATM cards to withdraw their salaries. So we have not failed, we will never fail and we will pay salaries on time and we will pay everyone that is entitled to be paid his salary.
Is the 10% deduction from workers’ salaries legal?
Well, a budget is passed by the State House of Assembly which is appropriation law. And anytime within the year that you want to make adjustments or improvement in what you are going to do in terms of your expenditure or revenue and your source of revenue; you go back to the House of Assembly and you present a law, and the law is submitted to the House of Assembly and approved before the government take the action, so I would say that it is not illegal. And let me also say that we are all responsible citizens, we are all our brothers keepers, the intention of this is for us to be able to in one way or the other help those of us who are not privileged, who are disabled, or incapacitated for one reason or the other. And I really don’t think, it is out of place for us not to be able to make this kind of sacrifices.
What is the government doing about the cumulative benefits of retirees?
Well, the 2013 budget will adequately make provisions for the payment of salaries and gratuities and pensions to our retirees and I know that we had very thorough discussions with the State Pensions Board and they have given us all the details of all those that are out of service that are entitled to their payments, and we have taken those into consideration and that we are going to factor into the 2013 budget
But must government take loans to implement its policies and programmes?
This answer is also going to be simple. You fund your activities by a combination of a number of certain things, and borrowing is one of those factors that you must take into consideration, that is why for some of us who are in the financials, you will always hear people talking about leverages, what ratio of equity, what ratio of internally generated revenue, what ratio of your federation account allocation and what ratio of loan you take to be able to fund your activities, and let me also say that some of these loans are not really loans that you take to go and engage in frivolous and so on. Some of these loans are specific, you take specific loans for example the commercial agriculture loan, you take it and it is channel into a productive sector of the economy and it is meant for a specific thing and repayment has to come from this specific item.
So it is not all the times that loans are taken, in fact the law is even very clear, you don’t take loan to finance recurrent expenditure. Whatever you take in finance is specific item of capital expenditure and that is what we have done. And like I said in the 2012 we had the plan to go to the capital market to raise funding to fund specific projects which we have not been able to do.
What plans do the Government have for NGOs, CBOs, and donour agencies?
I make bold to say that those who operate here, we have a very cordial relationship with them. In fact, I will tell you that in this Ministry, the Ministry of Budget and Planning we have a unit that deals basically with these, and I know that they have really up and doing in relating with these agencies, but I will also say that at any time you have there is room for improvement in this relationship, so we are working very closely with them and it is our intention that going into 2013 we should be able to sustain this level of relationship and probably improve on what we have.
May we know what is happening with the Bauchi aircraft purchased by the previous administration?
The aircraft is still there and I will tell you that even as at today we are still paying for that aircraft. The aircraft was bought by the previous administration but it was not paid for, it was partially paid and we have been paying for this aircraft ever since we came in 2007, and we will continue to pay for it, that was the arrangement we made when we came in 2007, and as it is, you know as at the decision we have today, maintaining this aircraft every year you pay for E checks, you pay for C checks, you engage one consultant or the other for you to be able to maintain that aircraft and in terms of cost, cost of maintenance of an aircraft is very high, it is not really commensurate with the kind of revenue you generate basically if you operate this aircraft twelve months in a year. Now, the decision we have to make and it is something that we believe will come out of 2013 budget is whether to continue to maintain this aircraft at this cost, unreasonable cost or dispose this aircraft.
And personally I will say that it is better we dispose this aircraft because in spite of the maintenance you make it depreciate every year and the value of this that you have will continue to go down, so it is better and I think in 2013 budget, we will have to reflect it as being disposed and the profit from the sale of this aircraft be channelled to some other areas.
How true is it that Bauchi state government went to United States of America to beg for funds for the conduct of local government elections in the state?
I was not aware that the state government has gone to the United States of America to beg for money to conduct local government elections in the state. Iam not aware and if there are such rumours I think I will use this opportunity to dispel the rumour, it’s absolutely rubbish, its absolute nonsense. Of course when you conduct elections, you developed some kind of collaborations and partnership and there are agencies everywhere across the World that are interested in what you do and sometimes they tried to come in to see how they can lend support to what you do in terms of technical support, in terms of may be training, in terms of, that you can always solicit support but for somebody to say that the government has gone to look for funds for its elections is wrong. It is our intention that the funding, the entire funding for the conduct of local government elections is going to be funded by the state government and is going to be borne by the government, and it is going to be fact into the budget of 2013.
May we say the salaries and other entitlements of the newly appointed district heads, village and ward heads was approved by the Legislature?
Well, the payment of these categories of appointees is the responsibility of local governments and that I believe is captured or is going to be captured in the budgets of various local governments of this state, and I believed that was also incorporated in their budgets.
What are the plans of the government in areas such as education, water, health, among others?
In terms of education, you have noticed that some of the classrooms and so on in those problematic schools that are over-crowded, we has very thorough discussions with the State Universal Basic Education Board and there are plans for us to be able to re-adjust these challenges. Let me also add that the operations of SUBEB are basically funded in two folds, 50% of their operations are funded from the state, and 50% is funded from the federal government. Now, the arrangement is such that the federal government only brings in the 50% where the state provides its 50%. We have not failed all these years in providing our contributions, and we will not fail in 2013 and it is our intention that with this funding, you know we should be able to address most of these issues, but let me quickly also add that we may not be able to address everything 100%, but we will do as much as we can and we believe in subsequent years we should be able to do the rest.
What could you say about the slow face of water, roads and hospital projects execution especially those of Zaki and Kafin Madaki and Gubi dam water supply?
This is not news, everyone has heard the kind of challenges that we have, contractors that were responsible for these hospitals, in fact it’s not just that hospital, the government has taken the decision to review these contracts, and Iam sure these contracts are going to be determined. The unfortunate thing for Kafin Madaki is that it has reached advanced stage, probably 98% has been done and I know that even some equipment were already there. I believe Kafin Madaki hospital should be commission any moment from now. Saki hospital, yes it has been addressed, you know the case of Zaki hospital is even the worse than that of Kafin Madaki but I know the government has taken decision to determine that and that is also going to be addressed in 2013.
I think the issue of water supply is a very big issue, big issue because even taking Bauchi into consideration, when the Gubi dam was built 30 years ago, it was built to provide 10 million gallons of water per day. And when this government came, it renovated the old Gubi water works. At optimal capacity, the old Gubi, the new Gubi were supposed to provide 12.5 million gallons per day, and the requirement for Bauchi now is about 60 million gallons of water per day. That is the truth of the matter, and the government over the years has been discussing with the Federal government, there was plan for large or the Greater Bauchi Water Supply Scheme which has been with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, it has been pushed, but in the interim what the state government has done over these years is to continue to provide water schemes, clusters of boreholes everywhere and I Know that this has been on-going, you know we have quite a number, we have at Barkumbo, we have at Gudum, Yalwan Kagadama, quite a number of them, and you know this is a continuous process. We will continue to do that and in the 2013 budget it is our intention that the water supply sector will be adequately funded to a reasonable extent to be able to address most of these issues. Let me also add that RUWASSA which is an agency that is responsible for the provision of water in the rural areas, we have had very serious discussions with RUWASSA, we have looked very critically the needs and demands of RUWASSA and it is our intention that we will address most of these needs within the limitations that we have in the 2013 budget
On roads, I think that I will disagree, I really don’t think that Gumau – Saminaka road project has been abandoned, for those of us who are, Iam a bloody accountant, for those of us who are engineers know that road construction no matter what suspended at a certain time in the year, but you have very heavy rains, and I know that for a large part of this year because of the rains, work has been suspended. For we have also had very thorough discussions with the Ministry of Rural Development and we are going to make sufficient provisions for us to be able to address these roads, and whether we like it or not these roads are very important to us.
What about the suspended appointments for security and political aides by the government?
Well, security is very important and particularly at this critical point in time when it has become everybody’s concern, the government will do all it can to continue to maintain the kind of peace and improve upon it, that is something we will continue in the 2013 budget. And then of course on the issue ofb political aides, Iam sure the number of political aides we will have is going to be quite minimal, not as large as we have had in the past because sometimes, time make certain demands on you, but I think we have gone fast these times and I think we should be able to have as reasonable number as we can manage based on the limitations that we have. About the visit to the twenty local government areas for us to be able to see the kind of problems we have in water supply, I think that I have addressed because Iam also a from a rural area, and we all goes to the rural areas every day and we know what the problems are, and I think on the basis of what, on the basis of the information you have been receiving, and the monitoring and evaluation that we do, we have discussed this extensively with RUWASSA and we are going to fund RUWASSA to the level of satisfaction in 2013 for them to be able to go and do a lot in terms of rural water supply.
On the issue of medical care for pregnant women and children, Iam not aware that the government stopped this policy, but of course a system evolved, sometimes they get more efficient, but as they get efficient they also begin to go down, and I believe that we have challenges in the implementation of free medication for children under five and pregnant women. It is the intention of the government that an agency called the Drugs Management and Consumables Agency is going to be created, we have done an extensive analysis in respect of that, we have gone to study states where they have had this kind of agency, and we believe it is good for us to be able to have this agency to be able to address some of these issues. So the law for the establishment of that agency has been approved by the State House of Assembly and that agency is going to come on board in 2013. It is going to be funded adequately in 2013, and we believe with that we should be able to improve on what we do in the area of provision of not just this category of drugs at every level in our hospitals and centres.
What is happening to some of the power generators in the hospitals not working?
The Government, I don’t know because if you used a generator for a certain period of time, you are expected to maintain it and I know that the government in terms of maintenance of the generators that have been provided to these hospitals, in terms of provision of diesel, the government has been consistent in providing funds for these. Agreed, like I say in terms of implementation, responsibilities are given to every unit to be able to manage that. I know that there have been reports of mismanagement of some of these resources that are allocated for these hospitals. Some of these hospitals in spite of providing cost of maintenance cost of diesel, sometimes you pass these hospitals in the night and you don’t see these generators in use. Now I know that this is an issue that the Ministry of Health is trying to address, and I know that in the course of our discussions, we also had thorough discussions on these and it is the intention of the government that the provisions that we have been making in terms of maintenance of these generators would be sustained in 2013. And beyond that we are also taking into consideration the inflationary factors, probably the increases that have come within the year in terms of cost of fuel, all these are going to be factored in the 2013 budget.
How is the government tackling about the flood issue?
The losses that have accrued just to this state and the nation at large is really very colossal. Now, floods are acts of God, you make plan but sometimes where they come in large scale that you get over-whelmed by what you have, and I believe that all of us know that the magnitude of the flood we have this year is unprecedented. We all remember how this came about, those that happened here when we are trying to manage them, the Cameroon released water from its dam and it became too unbearable for us to be able to manage. I know that the federal government is making efforts, the flood spread across 19 states of the federation, and in spite of whatever you might try to do; you are only going to be able to address this problem in phases. The federal government has released certain sums to the affected states, it is also trying to see how it can release additional funds, and then of course the states including us are also looking at that and we are trying to factor it into our budget, how we go into addressing the catastrophe that has come with the floods. And let me also say that for us as a state we are also making efforts trying to put pressure on the federal government for us to be able to do from the Special account that the federal government may think desirable so that to a very reasonable extent we will be able to address to address this, but let me say that it is not something that you can address in a day or in a month, two months or six months, we have a plan for it in 2013, and we are going to factor our plans in the budget 2013.
How is the Government going about the issue of youths and women employment?
You know rather than give political appointments such as SSA, SA, PA and so on and so forth, our plan really, because looking at our state, we have a number of challenges, challenges that my brother the director of environment has highlighted, we are faced with a lot of problems in terms of desert encroachment, problems arising from a climate change and so on, and it is our intention that from the savings that we made from the subsidy that has been removed from fuel, we should be able to come up with a programme that would engage the youths and women across the state in all the 313 wards of the state for them to wake up in the morning and be able to go and do something that would help that particular area every for eight hours and you pay them. Now, the intention of the government is to be able to engage 20, 000 youths. For example, if you take the Northern part of the state where you have the major case of desert encroachment and so on, engage these people in afforestation, tree planting, and they only go to plant these trees, water them, nurse them and next time they move to another place and you continue to pay them. In places like Yankari Resort and Safari where you have a lot of animals and you have poachers coming in, you engage them as rangers, game guards. Elsewhere, where you have the conditions there that can encourage you to go and do a lot of agriculture, engage them in agricultural activities that is our plan. And let me say that the model that we have used, the public works that we introduced in 2008 through BACYWARD where we engaged security, cleaners, is the model that has been adopted by the federal government in the implementation of the S U R E – P programme, and we are happy because they looked at all these kinds of programmes in all the states that have similar programmes and our own became the best and it is became a model upon which the S U R E – P of the federal government was created upon, so we believe with the structure that we have in place, and I have been specific to mention the source of funding for these projects, the savings from the subsidy withdrawal is going to accrue because it is release on a monthly basis. Part of it from the state will go to fund that, part of what comes to the local governments will go to fund that because everything is going to be done in every ward of the state, and whatever balances would be there will be channelled towards the provision of critical infrastructure which is intended to improve on what we do in terms of economic development. Thank you.
General Motors to close Opel plant in Bochum
Opel has said it will end car production at its Bochum manufacturing plant in Germany in 2016 after production of its Zafira Tourer car ends.
General Motors’ European subsidiary said the decision was a response to a slump in car sales in Europe.
The decision might help safeguard the future of Opel’s Ellesmere Port plant in the UK, where it trades as Vauxhall.
Opel employs 3,300 people at the Bochum plant, though some jobs might be saved.
The carmaker said it might manufacture components at the plant after 2016, and that its warehouse in Bochum will remain operational.
GM estimates it stands to lose more than $1.5bn (£935m; 1.2bn euros) on its European operations this year.
It aims to return Opel and Vauxhall to profit by 2015, but the brands are heavily dependent on the European market where industry wide new car sales fell by 7.3% in the first 10 months of the year, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.
Talks with the unions about closing Bochum, which is one of Opel’s four manufacturing plants in Germany, had been taking place since June.
“Despite rigorous efforts, there was no success in changing the situation,” Opel said in a statement.
“The main reasons are the dramatic declines in the European car market and the enormous overcapacity in the entire European auto industry.”
Opel has decided it needs to reduce its manufacturing capacity in Europe, having lost money 12 years running.
Bochum is one of Opel’s four manufacturing plants in Germany, where it employs some 20,000 people.
“It’s a severe blow that affects a lot of people and their families and the Bochum region as well,” said government spokesman Georg Streiter.
“The workforce’s anger is understandable because there have been some decisions by GM in the past that certainly weren’t helpful, for example the lack of access to certain markets but also the treatment of employees, which has been anything but exemplary,
“The German government … has the expectation that the parent company General Motors will do everything possible to find socially acceptable solutions.”
A union official representing the workers at the Bochum plant said they had not given up the fight.
“We have at least four years to make clear that we want to continue building cars in the following years,” said Rainer Einenkel, head of the factory’s employee council.