Late last year, at the launch of Infrastructure Development Fund (IFK), Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed promised to plug the about N255 billion infrastructure gap in the state. With some ongoing projects in Ilorin, the state capital, and some other local government areas, he is keeping to his promise.
Worthy of mention are the ongoing work at the Geri Alimi Diamond Underpass and the operation light up Kwara. The cost of both has been put at N3.5 billion and N6 billion respectively. Operation light-up Kwara is on public-private partnership basis.
Other ongoing projects include Chapel-Oke Odo-Bubu link Road, aimed at decongesting Tanke, University road, Pipeline and Awolowo, Offa Garage, and Tipper Garage roads. Others completed five km Offa- Irra rural road, eight km Erin Ile-Elemona-court road in Oyun local government area, Ipe township and Ogbondoroko township roads.
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and some other groups in the state have pilloried the underpass bridge and light-up projects, describing them as elitist and of no value to the common man on the street.
During the launch of IFK, the governor said the state plans to achieve this through partnership with some banks, contractors, consultants and others.
The state Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed said that the establishment of IF-K was informed by his desire to ensure rapid infrastructure growth and the need for an appropriate savings as well as investment mechanism.
He added that in the next ten month, over N5.8 billion will be pumped into the state’s economy via IF-K.
“Our expectation is that this injection will keep our project partners in business and have a positive spiral effect on employment generation. In the medium term, the remaining N5.3b of government spending will boost the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for about 18 months while sustaining the multiplier impact on job creation,” he said.
Governor Ahmed added that he is not unaware of the state of “infrastructure in our state in recent times. I am not unaware of the situation. So let me give you this assurance.
He said, “Following from the PPP, IF-K is the second phase of my government’s long term strategy to diversify our local economy, stimulate economic growth via private sector participation in infrastructure development and create opportunities for collective
prosperity.
“The purpose of the IF-K, therefore, is to pool funds for infrastructure projects, optimally leverage private sector resources for infrastructure development and channel State Internal Revenue to directly impact economic diversification and growth strategies. IF-K is also designed to ensure maximum quality assurance for asset and services procured by government and encourage broader and deeper interactions with the Kwara State government from private and non-private partners.
“The fund will be financed through a N5billion seed fund and a N500 million monthly contribution from the state’s Internally Generated Revenue through an Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO). This implies that the money will be taken at source from the state’s Internally Generated Revenue and provides an additional layer of assurance to project partners. Additional non-IGR funds, such as those from the Federal Government and global development partners will be added to IF-K as they become available.
“Under IF-K, funds will be disbursed on a quarterly basis, and are projected to grow by N6 billion by the end of the year. In order to ensure accountability, and insulate the funds from political control, the IF-K will be managed by a reputable investment company, Investment One, appointed as trustee for the scheme.
“Investment One is also to market the fund to potential investors and mitigate against payment risks by ring-fencing the funds and limiting their utilisation to the approved purposes for which they have been earmarked.
“In other words, the trustees are independent of the state government, and will only disburse funds upon the presentation of a certified certificate of completion and at agreed project milestones.
“As an added measure to ensure quality standards, the certificate of completion is also subject to further authentication by an independent project inspector. IF-K is therefore not susceptible to interference from any other party. I must also emphasise that we will continue to fund smaller projects through other platforms as only projects worth N300 million and above will be included on the IF-K payment grid.
Following the launch of IF-K the payment grid will commence in December, 2016 with all ongoing and new projects targeted for completion by December, 2018. Furthermore, the total value of ongoing project debts to be addressed through IF-K is estimated at about N11.1 billion.
“As a demonstration of faith and a token of our commitment to pay all outstanding contractor debts, we have disbursed N1.7 billion to significantly reduce current debt to contractors. The balance to be paid from IF-K is estimated at N9.4 billion.
“This amount will be reduced on a quarterly basis until all debts are finally liquidated before the end of the administration.
Simultaneously, contractors will drop off the IF-K grid as their obligations are terminated to allow for the introduction of new portfolio of fresh projects.
“Given the benefits of stable and reliable funding provided by IF-K, I state without any equivocation that the era of abandoned projects is over in Kwara state. As a demonstration of this determination, all ongoing and new projects will be funded to completion under the IFK before the end of my tenure. “In my second inaugural speech, I made a commitment to transform Kwara.
On inspection tours of some of the project sites, the state Works Commissioner Alhaji Aro Yahaya assured that all ongoing projects would be completed before the expiration of the current administration in 2019. He ruled out insinuations in some quarters that projects would be abandoned, stressing that all projects funded under the Infrastructure Development Fund (IF-K) model would be carried to completion.
Alhaji Yayah particularly allayed the general public’s fears about the completion of the Geri-Alimi Split Diamond Underpass, stressing that it will not be abandoned.
