Bayelsa approves N10 billion to upgrade school facilities

The government of Bayelsa State and
relevant stakeholders in civil service
administration on Wednesday in Yenagoa
endorsed a number of reforms aimed at
restructuring the public service for
effective delivery. The meeting was also
aimed at checking the syndrome of ghost
workers and other unwholesome practices.
While the stakeholders of his commitment
to reposition the state public service,
Governor Henry Seriake Dickson called for
the support of stakeholders in the
implementation of the various reforms.
He described as unacceptable, the age long
sharp practices in the state civil service,
adding that the said payment of over N4
billion monthly wage bill could no longer
be sustained. Dickson said that it has
impacted negatively on the developmental
agenda of the restoration government.
According to him, the meeting was
convened to intimate the stakeholders of
the financial position of the state and chart
a way forward in view of the prevailing
economic situation. Some of the reforms as
highlighted by the governor and endorsed
by the stakeholders in attendance include;
approval of N200 million monthly
subvention to the state owned Niger Delta
University. He stressed that only
subventions would be given to tertiary
institutions as against the old practice of
monthly payment of salary.
Also the state government gave approval of
N10 billion for the purpose of upgrading
facilities in all its tertiary institutions
across the state and also instituted a special
Education Safety Corps to ensure the safety
of its schools. The governor urged all
tertiary institutions to key into
government’s vision of adopting a single
accounting system to check fraud, stressing
that education levy would be introduced
for all workers in the state to fund
activities in the sector. According to
Governor Dickson, as part of the reforms,
the state civil service commission will be
reconstituted just as government did to that
of the local government service
commission.
He stressed that further steps would be
taken to re-organize the state’s Ministries,
Departments and Agencies pointing out
that staff with requisite qualifications and
skills would be redeployed to relevant
ministries and institutions. Also, the state
government has created a N10 billion
Enterpreneur Development Fund to
empower people that may voluntarily opt
out of the civil service arising from the re-
organization of the service.
The Governor announced that henceforth,
the State Environmental Sanitation
Authority would be taken out of the
mainstream of the civil service, stating that
only a few and relevant staff would be
deployed on secondment to the authority.
To tackle the problems of absenteeism, and
ghost workers syndrome, attendance
registers have been introduced in all the
MDAs which would be properly monitored
by special teams.
The meeting had in attendance, the
traditional rulers, captains of Industry,
members of the State House of Assembly,
top government functionaries, local
government chairmen to mention but few.
Alabatvnews.