My fellow Katsinawa and Daurawa and other well wishers from within and without our beloved Katsina state assalamu alaikum! These last two weeks we have been posting the translated version of my vision earlier posted in English for those millions of Katsinawa that best understand us in Hausa. This will continue inshaa Allah for weeks unknown to give equal franchise to those that Hausa is what they understand most for necessary buy in into our dream and vision for a better Katsina. Since what we have for the state is much, in between, like I will do today, I will be inter spacing the rhythm of our hausa posts with periodic interventions of new visions as time is not on our side. Today inshaa Allah I am going to touch on GOOD GOVERNANCE as a panacea for the rebirth of new Katsina. It is my intention, as Governor to put in place the necessary administrative and regulatory structures that will not only ensure distribution of labour within the system but make me less attractive as the center of gravity for almost everything governance. This I will start by ensuring that our procurement system from the local government level to the state level is completely overhauled to make it more effective, efficient and faster. I will, as a first step, take away the control of local governments from the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and the agencies under it to the Office of the Deputy Governor. A situation where an elected executive will be reporting to an appointee of government undermines the wish of the electorate and the dignity that should ordinarily come with that wish. Having done that I will alter our procurement system in this manner: a) I will first draft a bill that I will send to the State House of Assembly for the passage into law of State Expenditure Control Mechanism. This will be the legal framework that will guide all manners of procurement within the state. The aim of the law is to ensure that every sector or segment of government is responsible for the determination of its needs and equally responsible for its procurement in so far it is within its threshold. All local government chairmen have the right to approve for purchase and execute contracts without seeking for Council approval from N1million to N10 million. All contracts from N10 - N25 million must be approved by the Local government council. All contracts from N25 million - N50 million must be approved by the Local Government Expenditure Control and Enforcement Committee which shall comprise the following; I. Deputy Governor as Chairman; ii. Auditor General for Local Governments; iii. Accountant General for the State; iv. Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance; v. Permanent Secretary Ministry for local government and Chieftaincy affairs; and, v. Director General Local Government Inspectorate as the Secretary. All procurements from N50 million and above for local governments must be approved by the State Executive Council. At the state level, a Permanent Secretary will have approval limit for all procurements from N1 million - N5 million for purchases and N5 million - N10 million for construction. A commissioner will have the power to approve all contracts that are duly deliberated upon by the Ministerial Tenders Board from N10 million - N50 million. All contracts above N50 million must go to the State Executive Council for approval. All heads of Agencies and Parastatals will have the power to approve expenditures from within N1 million - N10 million while anything from N10 million - N25 million must be approved by the Ministerial Tenders Board of the Ministry the Agency or the Parastatal reports to. Anything above N25 million must be certified by the Procurement Commission and approved by the Executive Governor if it does not exceed N50 million. N50 million and above must be approved by the State Executive Council. This is to ensure that the system is fair to all and I do not abuse my powers to enrich myself so also those with whom our trust is kept. There will be established by law a State Procurement Enforcement and Regulatory Commission in the state. This Commission is responsible for among others the following; a) Ensuring that all procurement procedures are complied with in all matters of procurement for those contracts that are N25 million and above; b) Ensuring that prices as quoted and submitted by the procuring entity are competitive and the quality is within the acceptable standard; c) that all contracts from N1 million are subject to periodic checks and investigation to ensure that the procurement was done in conformity with stated procurement guidelines as contained in the letter of award and the contract agreement where such was signed; d) issuance of procurement certificates for all categories of contracts from N25 million and above; e) Enforcement of administrative and legal penalties for violations and infractions; f) Constant review of procurement guidelines as may arise from time to time; and, g) the Commission will be responsible for the enforcement of necessary benchmarks that will measure to federal and best international practices to ensure that the State is made attractive for would be investors. This Commission will be headed by an Economist, Architect, Quantity Surveyor, an Engineer or a Marketting Manager with 25 years cognate experience in procurement. God willing, under my administration, I will not arrogate to myself that wrongful belief that I know it all or I am the only trusted public official within the system and all others are either dull or thieves. Everyone will be allowed to do his job and everyone will be responsible for his action and will equally be held accountable for that too by me and by God. as for me, you will be my judge! Thank you all!
Posted on: Sat, 02 Nov 2013 09:00:14 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015