Gov Ahmed unveils developmental agenda

*Generate massive employment through infrastructure

*Build 200,000 new classrooms across state

*Build overhead bridge at Gar-Alimi

*New cabinet in a fortnight

*Kwara not among heavy debtors

Kwara State Governor Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed’s media men, Senior Special Assistant (Media and Communication), Dr Muyideen Akorede and Chief Press Secretary, Alhaji Abdulwahab Oba paid a familiarisation visit to the Head Office of National Pilot Newspapers in Ilorin, last Thursday. During the visit, Akorede spoke to our reporters extensively on Governor Ahmed’s policies and programmes.

Excerpts

What is the policy thrust of Governor Ahmed’s second term?

Shortly after his Excellency was sworn in, he declared that he has very finite time to deliver on what he wants to do for the state and by the time he delivers all these things, as Allah wills, Governor Abdulfatah would have surprised everybody and the state will witness major transformation. One of the things he talked about was improved IGR through taxation, as a major foundation for everything he wants to do. The starting point he said, is making the current tax system more efficient before new lines of taxation are introduced. We had identified at that point the leakages the state government recorded per annum. What he could identify was N5billion at the level of mere review; that has to be fixed.

When it is able to generate about N2billion monthly, the administration will accomplish everything that it wants to do. One of them is stimulating our local economy from several angles. First is through infrastructure, which will generate massive local employment. Then, through that it would encourage investors to come. The issue of independent power plant in Kwara North is expected to power industrial clusters in Kwara South, North and Central, which industries will take advantage of. Others are the planned overhead bridge at Garin Alimi, dualisation of Michael Imoudu road to Ganmo, the bypass from airport to Asa Dam and another one from Tanke area to University of Ilorin. The plan to build 200,000 brand new classrooms across the state are among other top infrastructures targeted at stimulating the economy by creating jobs through infrastructure development. Also, the government will focus on human capital development because there is a limit to how many jobs can be created. So, we will provide a platform for unemployed youths to be able to receive micro credits towards starting their own businesses and also raise money for taxes through that. So, it is a win-win game for the government, his administration and the people. And like he told the heads of tertiary institutions, some of what he is doing now will be obvious after he has left because just like the leader (Dr Bukola Saraki) did, Governor Ahmed wants to lay a solid foundation for the future of Kwara State.

There has been a lot of misgivings about whether Harmony Holdings belongs to Saraki or his family, mainly because some people are not just happy that we are doing things right. Most of the assets the Holdings are running today used to be dormant, non-profiting assets that were draining the purse of government instead of enriching it. That is why the government decided to bring them together and run them in private sectors style; even though management and ownership is still that of the state government. All the companies that are under Harmony holdings are currently there, there is no plan to bring in the tertiary institutions or the media like some are insinuating because these are set up by law, same with Kwara State Internal Revenue Service. As long as what His Excellency is doing is constitutional and legal and the necessary consultations are carried out, he is not going to look back because he is determined to transform the state despite the resources depreciation.

On the issue of continuation of past projects, the money expended on the five general hospitals could have built two new ones: that of Ilorin is standard, but what is the justification in leaving them to rot; same as other major roads in the state. The governor was able to complete and build new ones and not simply because he wants to avoid what people would say. Such position by the critics shows lack of understanding of the project and moreover, governance is a continuum. Governor Ahmed is aware of the time limitations to achieve all the projects lined out this time around and he is a man in a hurry to achieve them. There is a plan in place and we are bringing them out gradually. We understand the plight of Kwarans and we are working hard to even surpass the target. The governor has understudied places where their IGR were very successful and added his own ingenuity.

For instance, the governor has told all those who sent text messages and CV seeking for a job in KSIRS that he doesn’t want to be involved. With KSIRS, the job comes with a target which if not met within one or two months, will amount to sack just like they do in some banks. The survival of Kwara State depends on the success of these tax agencies. Some of the projects spoken about are just a question of raising the money and starting them.

What is government doing to block all these leakages that have been identified?

The first is that all the tertiary institutions should pay into a dedicated account as announced by the governor. Previously, what they used to do is to earn, spend and then just report to the governor on how they spent it. That needs to change and it will give the governor the ability to monitor the accounts from anywhere in the world, especially now that the world is a global village. Then, he will also know what is coming in from them in terms of subvention. The government can then look at their budget and incorporate it in the budget of the state. Once that stands, on a quarterly or monthly basis, these institutions will receive their money. So, it’s not like government is taking their money as it is being misrepresented in some quarters but just to know how much is coming in and how the money is being deployed.

Secondly, this process will now be extended to all revenue bearing agencies in the state. You discover that the same thing that happened in tertiary institutions also take place in other MDAs. For example, KWARTMA will arrest people and engage about five consultants to go and take the money. Some of which the government does not know about. Each of them will now have dedicated accounts with commercial banks. This is different from what the FG is doing because the banks they will be using will have to be approved by the state government. Also, there will be no more cash payment because it is now illegal, according to the new KISRS law for any revenue generating agency to accept cash. When you eliminate cash collection, you have virtually eliminated 95 percent or more of the leakages we used to experience. Based on this review, government is convinced that it will be possible to take the current IGR from the current N500 million to over N1.5 billion and can then approach banks confidently for loan facilities. Everything the government will raise from the banks will be based on the IGR expected. Also, the concern that he (Governor Ahmed) will leave huge debt behind is not valid because it will be paid before or by May 29, 2019. Also, we need to encourage people to pay tax, irrespective of what they trade in and the payment has been structured to make it flexible. With all these, more sanity and more money will be put in place for the administration to be able to take off.

When is the next cabinet going to be constituted?

The governor has said in the next couple of weeks. And has also said he doesn’t want to increase the burden of wage bill on the state. So, it’s a statutory function and it will be done by law. But he wants to put certain things in place and consult with relevant stakeholders and look at the finances properly. Appointing a cabinet of SA’s, commissioners, special assistants, LOs, board members, among others, will bloat the same wage bill that he is struggling to deal with because of the huge drop in FAAC allocation. The governor is working on a capable team he wants to work with.

What are government plans on Owu Water falls to make it a revenue generating venture?

The road that leads to Owu falls is a Federal Government road and we cannot intervene without the FG commitment, coupled with the required resources, which we don’t have now. So, what the government is doing to put the infrastructure in place and ensure the policies are there for the Tourism Ministry and the Public Private Partnership (PPP) to interface. One of the governor’s policies is to serve the state more aggressively for people to see the opportunities to come in. Same thing goes for Shonga farm. The federal government will have to fix the security situation for the foreign tourist to come in. The Cargo Terminal and Metropolitan Square projects are parts of the projects that this administration intends to work on. So the concept is to raise money to fix infrastructure for the administration to get more money. Today, the Aviation College is now a self running organisation because the government has stopped funding it but has been able to pilot it to a point where they will be self sufficient. Eventually, this will happen in most of the revenue generating agencies in Kwara State. Kwara Polytechnic today is among the agencies that do not owe salaries. We have to check what they are doing that others are not doing. But with this single account scheme, we will be able to see where the revenues are going.

What is happening to the Egbejila/Asa Dam road and the link bridge?

All these projects have been captured in a document on the governors table and we intend to make progress once the salaries of the state have been fully paid. The government intends to enter into arrangement with all the contractors to give them part payment first, which will be gradual until the projects are consummated fully. We should be thankful for having Ahmed as the governor because you would remember that a state has come to understudy how we have been keeping salaries going when we don’t have the IGRs to the tune of states like Lagos, or even Bayelsa.

At the tail end of the Governor Ahmed’s first term, a committee led by Alhaji Kawu Baraje was set up to come up with modalities on creation of Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in the state. We have not heard anything since. What is really happening?

The committee has submitted its report and a white paper review committee has been set up to review its recommendations that has to be presented before the cabinet. Unfortunately, the cabinet is not in place. But his Excellency and the leader of the party in the state are both committed to providing the platforms for our people to get the needed development, whether through LCDAs and others. But we need to get the needed infrastructure in place and the review committee and the cabinet.

Some years ago, a bill was passed by the Kwara State House of Assembly on the renaming of Kwara State University (KWASU) Molete, after late Dr Olusola Saraki, but it has not been implemented. What is the problem?

Such major decisions have to be taken holistically before being assented to by the governor and we also have to be careful about insinuations. But once everybody is on the same page about moving forward, including the stakeholders, then, the governor will be able to take a final decision. The House of Assembly have passed it into law and the governor is very much in line with it, but he has to consult widely with the stakeholders.

The former administration employed a kind of PPP as a policy to see through most of the projects executed, are we also looking towards the PPP direction for now?

For this administration, the PPP remains a cardinal policy in terms of completing infrastructure. But not all infrastructures are amenable to that. It is challenging, though not impossible, to get investors to invest in road projects because it’s a long term project. But part of the power generation that would be generated would be farmed out to private investors for power. So, we generate and they will be there to distribute. On education, one of the strategies is to take the cluster facilities in terms of the schools to be built in the three senatorial districts in the state. The International Vocational Centre, for example, would be run independently of the state Ministry of Education as a government owned but ‘stand alone agency’.

What has been the response of the Federal Government on the issue of refunds on Federal road projects?

The governor with his colleagues, when they met with the President in July, were able to extract among others, the commitment from him towards that regards, but the claims and quality of the work have to be verified. The Federal Ministry of Works is currently verifying the projects and once that has been done and returned to the federal government, we are hopeful to start getting the proceeds before the end of the year.

How much is the exact figure that the state is expecting from the Federal Government as refund?

If we add the Kishi-Kaiama road, it’s about N18 billion that we are expecting from the Federal Government as refund on the road projects.

What is the latest on the issue of the bailout?

The state government has not received any bailout. The N2.1billion we got was the state’s share of the LNNG proceeds, which was due to every state but it was not released during the last administration tenure. As important as paying salaries is, government also has the responsibility of running the state. The salaries of judges and judicial workers are first line charge by law and they have to be taken as such. The House of Assembly also has to be run. Everything cannot be deployed in paying salaries though workers were paid at the time to allow them have a joyous Eid Fitri celebration. The bailout is in two forms, which involve restructuring state government loans which we expect to happen before the end of the month depending on the federal government. Secondly, those states that now owe a lot of money, which Kwara is not among, would now receive a soft loan from the Central Bank to pay up those arrears none of which the state government has revived yet. But hopefully, in the next one or two weeks, at least the bailout in terms of restructuring our loan would happen and it would free up some funds for the government to meet all its obligations and paying civil servants’ salaries.

There has been apprehension about the operation of central account in some quarters, how would you react to this?

The KSIRS is the sole body for collecting and managing revenue in the state as being practiced in other states. One of the agencies set up under the KSIRS is a joint task committee, which comprised of local government chairmen and their EIGRS and the state representatives as well. Every month, whatever has been collected on behalf of the local government is published for everybody; and it’s not part of Joint Allocation Committee (JAAC) therefore it is not subjected to any deduction except for the cost of collection. After that has been accounted for, the money is then released to them. So, one would know what came from the respective local government and there is no fear of interference. It is just making collection efficient. There was a particular local government that said the highest IGR it can raise in a month is N200,000 and it is not a small local government. It means there are leakages somewhere. There will be no issue of somebody collecting anybody’s money. The scheme is for our benefits. Lagos jumped from N600million to over N20billion monthly now. We want to be able to achieve something like that even if we can’t get that much.

A committee was set to liaise with the governor by the Kwara State House of Assembly to look at having a cluster environment for the new lawmakers, what is currently happening?

A committee is currently meeting and we are looking at all the options available and if they need to stay together, the governor will look at issues to lower the cost of governance and once they are able to find a meeting place, then it will be addressed.

The opposition has alleged that the APC-led government has been victimising the opposition members in the administration with questionable transfers and even outright sack?

It’s not true. As powerful as the state governor is, he can’t sack any civil servant because it’s a serious process. We won a resounding victory by the grace of God and there is no need to be punishing people for that. Not with a government that is transparent and believes in the rule of law. The truth is that the opposition did not believe the tsunami that hit them and they try to make excuses when the reality dawned on them.

Since the Harmony Holdings took over running of the state’s investments, what has been the effect?

First is revenue. They paid us about N70m last year, which has never happened and it can only get better. Then they were still supervising Kwara Express, which is now their full subsidiary, same with Harmony Estate in Abuja, among others. There is no where you do things the same way and expect different results. It is not easy to just take government properties and convert it to personal use.