Restoration and Transformation Are Siamese Twins By: Idumange John Like Sesame twins, the Restoration Administration is a microcosm of the macrocosm in all ramifications. President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan took oath of office on 29 May, 2011 amidst thunderous expectations of a new dawn, given the mountain of problems that characterized the nation. Realizing the high expectations of the citizens, the President promised Nigerians a policy package tagged the Transformation Agenda. This is a 5-year development plan 2011-2015, driven by a world class team of 28 technocrats under the Chairmanship of the President himself and the coordination of a renowned Economist in person of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. The Transformation Agenda itself is focused on three key areas which include strong, inclusive and non-inflationary growth; employment generation and poverty alleviation and value re-orientation of the citizenry. Using thirteen key sectors as the spring board, the President hopes to transform the whole economy of Nigeria. The strength of the Transformation Agenda lie in one, a well thought out policy document; two, a world class Economic Management Team to drive the process though; three a potential financial, human and political resource base; four, a growing maturity of major institutions of governance such as the National Assembly, the Judiciary, an electoral umpire and the Armed Forces; and five, the needlessness to „re-invent the wheel‟ as several strategic plans blue print are already in place. Nevertheless, there are a number of threats and challenges to the realization of the Transformation Agenda. These include, one, absence of good governance and accountability; two, ineffective public service; three, lack of synergy between political office holders and holders of public office; four, the incessant problem of insecurity; five, corruption; six, bankrupt leadership; and seven, a faulty development agenda that is currently driving the Transformation Agenda. In conclusion therefore, there is the need The President further pledged that his leadership will be decidedly transformative in all critical sectors and that his administration must grow the economy, create jobs and generate enduring happiness for all and sundry. In addition, the President declared on day that he has great confidence in the ability of Nigerians to transform the country and that the urgent task of his administration is to provide a suitable environment for productive activities to flourish. He went on to appeal all good people of Nigerian to enlist as agents of the great Transformation Agenda (Tell Special Edition, June, 2012:9). Transformation itself is a development strategy aimed at complete or radical change in the life of an individual, organization, community or even the nation at large. According to the Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, transformation is a complete change in somebody or something. It is a multifaceted and multidimensional change affecting every component of the individual or society. Transformation in the life of a person connotes radical attitudinal change from bad to good or even vice versa. Institutionally, it depicts change that touches on every component of the institution. According to Ajala and Longe (2008), Transformation or reform, particularly in the health institution is a process that seeks changes in the health sector policies, financing and organization of services as well as in the role of government to Inherited a battered economy from his predecessor with heavy debt burden and unfiniahed Thus, the Transformation Agenda of Goodluck Jonathan, from all intent and purposes, is largely in pursuance of collective national goals and aspirations towards driving Nigerian into the comity of the 20 largest economies in the world. Three, value re-orientation to re-organize the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to develop campaigns aimed at fighting corruptions, punish acts of corruption and reward exemplary behavior, support groups and Non- Government Organizations (NGOs) that are involved in the fight against corruption. Restoration like the transformation Agenda will address key areas such as one, good governance which include security of lives and property, law and order, anti-corruption crusade, public service reform and the provision of enabling environment for all and sundry to realize their full potentials. Two, the provision of infrastructure such as power, roads, railway, water ways and water for irrigation and industry. Three, human capital development, which will include education, healthcare delivery, skills acquisition, capacity building and achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). When Governor Henry Seriake Dickson assumed office, on February 14, 2012, he was faced with three main problems namely: an empty treasury, a bloated wage bill and an inexplicable debt burden. Government therefore thought it was proper to know the financial status of the State. This was what prompted Governor Dickson to set up the 11- man Bayelsa State Financial Review Committee with a mandate to look into the finances of the State. The Bayelsa State Financial Review Committee executed its mandate according to its terms of reference and identified the total revenues that accrued to the State and conduits used by the past administration to defraud the State. The scope of the Report covers the monies received by the past administration, its expenditure as well as the conduit pipes used to siphon the resources to the detriment of the people of Bayelsa State. The restoration administration has expressed its willingness to undertake a thorough scrutiny of the finances of the State in order to entrench a transparent and accountable regime for effective service delivery. On Financial Governor Seriake Dickson said On transparency, we believe that it is the right of the people of the state, to know what funds accrue to the coffers of the state and the various local government councils and how they are utilized. This is the only way to secure the trust and confidence of the people in whom sovereignty lies. I have directed all local government chairmen to comply with this paradigm shift on the issue of transparency, probity and accountability, to reflect the new Bayelsa we are building”. - Governor HSD Public financial management is the solar plexus of any government. In fact, it is the barometer with which the success of any government is measured. It concerns how government manages its assets and liabilities with the overarching goal to provide services and redistribute resources among the various agencies of government. As societal needs, all public resources must be used as efficiently as possible with a minimum of government wastage. Efficient public financial management is central to creating a relationship of mutual trust and shared consensus between government and citizens, which is the core of the development process. The management of funds is a critical aspect democratic practice. Financial management deals with a range of managerial decisions that result in the acquisition and financing of short term and long term projects and programmes for government. Financial management is the management of flow of funds in any system be it profit-making or non-profit making organization. Financial management the optimum utilization of funds among all MDAs for effective service delivery. Financial management, also referred to as planning, organizing and controlling the monetary resources of government, helps in improving the allocations of resources within government for the accomplishment of governments mandate as well as the delivery of social services. In order to realize all of these, effort are being be made to fast track development in all its ramifications. The focus of Transformation and Restoration are: 1. Reforms and fight against corruption 2. Building critical infrastructure 3. Human capacity building 4. Value re-orientation and entrenchment of work ethics 5. Emphasis on Agriculture 6. Emphasis on Transparency and Accountability 7. Zero Tolerance for Corruption 8. Prudence in the management of resources 9. Reforms in the power sector 10. Entrenching peace and security in the State 11. Emphasis on Tourism Development 12. Diversification of the economy 13. Improvement in transportation and other associated service delivery To be contd.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 17:22:57 +0000
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