GOVERNOR DICKSON: BUILDING A NEW BAYELSA By Dennis Alemu “Let me once again seize this occasion to assure all Bayelsans of our government’s commitment and resolve to birth a new Bayelsa of our dream. A new Bayelsa where everyone will have a true sense of pride and be made to feel the impact of government. We are building a new Bayelsa firmly rooted and anchored on the cardinal principles of transparency, accountability and service delivery as evident in our conduct of government business.” Gov. Seriake Dickson ONE irrefutable fact about governance under the Dickson Administration is the emergence of a New Bayelsa. As the chief servant of the state, Governor Henry Seriake Dickson has often articulated, the Restoration Team is building a new Bayelsa on the templates of transparency, accountability and service deliver. It will be recalled that the Restoration Agenda has been run for about two and a half years in Bayelsa State, and there is a consensus of opinion among the political cognoscenti that a New Bayelsa has emerged. This development is the direct consequence of the interplay or marriage of well-thought out policies, programmes and projects initiated and executed by the administration. However, getting a fuller grasp of what the New Bayelsa embodies will necessarily require a forensic re-examination of the policy-project mix that has defined the ideological focus of the Dickson Administration. IN THE BEGINNING… Governor Henry Seriake Dickson and his team came into government with a well-defined agenda to restore Bayelsa State to its lost glory. The blue-print with which to pursue this was the Restoration Agenda, as broadly captured in the 2012 campaign manifesto. It is pertinent to note that the Restoration Agenda was drawn up at a time Bayelsa State was experiencing serious governance deficits in virtually all sectors of its economy. Having had the benefit of hindsight from the seemingly ‘Animal Farm-like’ situation in the Glory of All Lands prior to their election, Governor Dickson and his Deputy decided to do the needful and which was the do away with corruption, enrichment without labour, and funding the greed and avarice of a few at the expense of development of the people. They then promised to undertake in Bayelsa State what they described a fundamental reform of the governance culture to emphasize transparency, accountability, due process and value re-orientation by all institutions and functionaries of government. The Restoration Team also promised to use the commonwealth of the people to fund the construction of good roads, education, promote tourism, generate wealth and develop agriculture, invest in health, and peace and security. We are happy to report that so far, the Dickson Administration has kept faith with its campaign promises and policy pronouncement. Justifiably, this expression of commitment to deliver concrete dividends of good governance has given birth to the New Bayelsa. INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT The New Bayelsa is more of a product of the unparallel infrastructural drive of the Dickson Administration than any other development yardstick. It is not an overstatement of fact that no administration in Bayelsa State had pursued infrastructural development like the Dickson’s is doing. And the good news for all Bayelsans is that development is not concentrated on only the state capital-infrastructural projects are spread out to all parts of the state. Roads and Bridges: The plot of Bayelsa’s development story is such that any government which failed to make road development a top priority in the state would qualify as a disservice to the people. Good enough, the Dickson Administration takes the view that road development holds the key to transform the state from its ubiquitous trappings of ruralhood to the paraphernalia of urbanhood. The righteous anger in the Restoration Team vented on road projects makes a clear repudiation of the dirty politics of road development, which had over the years badly crippled the socio-economic growth of the people. Essentially, the administration identified the three senatorial roads as key to open up the hundreds of communities and settlements that dot the mainly riverine state. The Bayelsa West Senatorial Road project is to terminate at Agge in Ekeremor Local Government Area, where the State Government is to build a deep seaport. With the Phase I of clearing already completed, and Setraco Nigeria Plc through with the Toru-Ebeni bridge project, all looks set for communities in Ekeremor Local Government Area to become motorable before 2016. The Bayelsa Central Senatorial Road project, which is to lead from Yenagoa to Oporoma and Koluama in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area is in progress, like the others. As this piece is put together, vehicles can now drive from Yenagoa to Anyama, although asphalt has not been laid. The Bayelsa State Government has already awarded contract to Setraco Nigeria Plc to construct Section I of the strategic road that is to open up hundreds of communities in the largest LGA in Nigeria. On the other hand, the work on Bayelsa East Senatorial Road project which is to lead from Yenagoa to Ogbia, Nembe and Brass has gone far. The multi-billion naira project which enjoys tripartite funding from the NDDC, SPDC and the Bayelsa State Government got a boost when the administration released N3 billion to the contractors fast-track its completion. By government modest projections, the hard coating will hit Nembe by December this year. This is real good news for localities which have been denied meaning development for decades on end. Aside these pivotal senatorial roads in the infrastructural definition of the New Bayelsa, the Bayelsa State Government has also embarked on some ambitious road projects within the state capital, Yenagoa, and its environs. Some of these projects have been completed, and are awaiting commissioning. They include the dualization/expansion of the Road Safety Road, the Hospital Road, the 32-km Tombia-Etegwe Road which leads to Amassoma with eight (8) bridges, and the 0.35km access road to the Nembe police station at Nembe. Others are internal roads at Toru-Orua; the 3.6km Boro Town access road, the Toru-Ebeni bridge, the Ikoli bridge and access road, amongst others
Posted on: Thu, 28 Aug 2014 17:37:18 +0000
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