The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Public-Private Partnership (PPP)

  • C’River to provide 2 megawatts of electricity in 18 LGAs – Ayade

    Gov. Ben Ayade of Cross River says the state is planning to build two megawatts of electricity in each of the 18 local government areas of the state.

    Ayade said this while welcoming some investment partners, Industrial Project Services (IPS) from South Africa, who paid him a courtesy visit in Calabar.

    According to Ayade, the project is expected to boost electricity supply in all the councils.

    He said that the project would be completed before 2019 through Public-Private Partnership (PPP).

    Ayade reiterated the commitment of his administration to ensuring that every local government area and every single village in the state had electricity.

    He described the project as a tall ambition, noting that the project would include a combination of both renewable and non-renewable energy sources.

    The governor said that the state was also considering the option of using solar for the day and gas for the night throughout the state.

    “The radiation studies and baseline data for Nigeria covers copiously a spectrum of Cross River State.

    “The radiation we see from literature studies shows clearly that we have high level of radiation which therefore, makes the applicability of solar, an energy source in the northern and central part of the state, viable.

    “This will be the first solar power project to be undertaken in the South-South of Nigeria on commercial scale.

    “And once this succeeds, it means that we would have opened the door to the real big market of Africa which is the Nigerian market.

    “If you have the Nigerian market, Africa will follow. This is not going to be on the roof, we are going to have a solar farm with about two or three hectares depending on the size,’’ the governor said.

    He said that the state government would create an industrial setting that would deal with power supply and solar base systems to stranded communities.

    Ayade explained that the government decided to go for IPS due to its very rich history and urged them to feel at home.

    Mark Philips, representative of IPS, said the company had worked on similar projects across 13 countries in Africa and two in Europe, among others.

    He said IPS worked undoubtedly according to specification and in line with International standards.

    IPS’s work and quality plans as well as tracking each phase and document of the project are professionally handled in line with the nine principles of project management.’’

     

  • The creative industry is our life and our job – Austen Peters

    The creative industry is our life and our job – Austen Peters

    Ms. Bolanle Austen-Peters has described the creative industry  as a money-spinning sector that the Federal Government must not neglect its development.

    “Art is money; art is life, art is job, art adds value to the individual and the environment,” the Founder and Managing Director, Terrakulture, a cultural firm, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday.

    She said in Lagos that it if well developed by the government, it would also boost the nation’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP) and employment generation for its teeming unemployed youths.

    She said that the industry was blessed with enormous potentialities that could be harnessed to solve the unemployment challenges facing the country.

    “Some of the areas of specialisation that the youths can venture into in the sector are: visuals, food, music, dance, and script writing.

    “ These areas are capable of employing millions of Nigerian youths and solve problems facing them,” she said.

    She also said that the industry was a fertile ground for the production of artistic and movie producers/directors, fashion designers, models, image makers and painters.

    Austen-Peters tasked the National Bureau of Statistics to disclose the data on revenue generated from creative arts and its contributions to the nation’s economy.

    She said that the data would enable government to know the immense contributions of the industry to national development in the areas of employment, revenue and foreign exchange earnings.

    She said that her firm had engaged several youths since its inception in 2013 through its periodic organised exhibitions.

    Austen-Peters said that the organized private sector should be ready to partner the Federal Government under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative because the former had lots of statutory responsibilities to perform.

  • $30bn required to tackle Africa’s healthcare challenges — Expert

    Between $25 billion and $30 billion is to be required in tackling Africa’s healthcare challenges.

    This assertion was made by Dr Olamide Okulaja, a healthcare finance specialist, in a lecture, he delivered on Monday in Ilorin at the Annual General Meeting/Scientific Conference of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) chapter.

    The lecture was entitled: “Public Private Partnership in Today’s Healthcare System: Prospects and Challenges.’’

    He said that Africa carries 24 percent of the disease burden in the world, adding that most poor people, in spite of their financial handicap, still access health care from the private sector.

    Okulaja pointed out that the healthcare system in Africa was caught in a vicious circle between lack of demand and supply.

    He called on the Federal Government to adopt Public Private Partnership (PPP) to reduce government’s struggle that was stretching its healthcare funding.

    “Governments everywhere are grappling with rising health care costs and increased demand for healthcare services in the face of ongoing budget constraints.

    “There are four key factors driving governments worldwide to use the PPP model for health sector improvements,’’ he said.

    He said the factors included the desire to improve the operation of public health services and facilities; and to expand access to higher quality services, and the opportunity to leverage private investment for the benefit of public services.

    Others, he said, were the desire to formalise arrangements with non-profit partners who deliver an important share of public services and more potential partners for governments as private healthcare sector matures.
    Okulaja explained that such partnerships create a powerful mechanism for addressing difficult problems by leveraging on the strengths of different partners.

    Dr Michael Oguntye, the Director of Primary Healthcare in Kwara, who also delivered a lecture on infectious diseases, said there was a gradual decrease in the amount allotted to health care by the government.

    He described infectious diseases as disorders caused by organisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites.

    According to the epidemiologist, infectious disease is a leading cause of death in the world.

    He also warned of the re-emergence of old diseases and the emergence of new ones.

    Oguntoye stated that with the huge fund needed to fight infectious diseases, PPP remained the best alternative for the government to adopt.

    In her submission on domestic violence, Mrs Oluronke Adeyemi, Chairperson of International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Kwara branch, said the scourge had a significant impact on the health and well-being of women.

    According to her, this is both in the immediate and long term as well as continuing even after the relationship has ended.

    She said that the psychological consequences of violence could be as serious as the physical effects, adding that exposure to violence leads to poorer physical health.

    According to her, there are unusual cases where the men are also abused.
    Domestic violence, she added, could take many forms, including emotional, sexual and physical abuse as well as threats of abuse.

    “Men are sometimes abused by partners, but domestic violence is most often directed toward women,” she said.

    The lawyer advised women and men facing abuse not to keep silent on the issue but seek for help, adding that FIDA was a body dedicated to such issues.

    Earlier in his address of welcome, Dr Ade Faponle, President of UITH ARD, said that the association had contributed its quota during the outbreak of Lassa Fever in the state through the provision of necessary kits, drugs and awareness campaign.

    He described the themes discussed at the meeting as apt and critical, saying they would sensitise the public and government on issues bordering on the health of the citizenry.

  • Strike: Hope dims for Bayelsa varsity students

    Strike: Hope dims for Bayelsa varsity students

    … Lecturers insist on salary payment as meeting ends in deadlock

    Students of the only Bayelsa State University, Niger Delta University (NDU), may have to stay longer at home following the inability of the state government to satisfy the demands of lecturers and other workers in the university.

    The students have spent over four months at home since April when the lecturers exhausted their patience and embarked on an indefinite strike over non-payment of their salaries.

    Workers in the university have not been paid since January, a situation that forced them to down tools and shut down a school that was founded at Amasoma, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, by late former Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.

    The students took to the streets last month and protested the closure of the school and appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to resolve their differences.

    ASUU, however, boiled over accusing the government of playing politics with NDU following its decision to establish the African University (AU) through the House of Assembly via a speedy legislation under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.

    It was gathered that a meeting held on Wednesday between government representatives and ASUU to seek ways of resolving the impasse ended in deadlock.

    The Chief of Staff, Chief Talford Ongolo, was said to have led government delegates to meet with ASUU at the Faculty of Law, Gwegwe, Yenagoa.

    Ongolo was said to have met a massively attended congress of ASUU consisting of all cadre of lecturers including reputable professors.

    When Ongolo and his delegates were admitted to the floor of the congress, the lecturers were said to lashed out at him through superior arguments over the way he addressed them.

    A principal member of the union who attended the meeting but spoke in confidence said the chief of staff drew the ire of his colleagues when he accused ASUU of refusing to call off the strike.

    He said: “The Chief of staff started on a  dry bad note by accusing ASUU of refusing to call off the ongoing strike after accepting to suspend the strike after payment of one month salary.

    “He was rebuffed by members of the congress who asked him to either quickly apologise or sit down immediately for telling lies. It took the pleadings and entreaties of exco to calm the  frayed nerves of members .

    “As the congress was calming down, Ongolo raised the sensitive issue of the  African University, Toru Orua.  The Congress flayed up again when he praised the governor for setting up the new university.

    “ASUU  members told him point blank that he (Talford Ongolo) and all the members of the government team attended Rivers State University of Science and technology Port Harcourt.

    “They told him pointblank that the ASUU NDU strike has moved from salary payment to the defence of poor Bayelsan students whose educational opportunities are under serious threat by the calculated attempt by the state government to kill NDU in order to benefit from the proceeds of AU”.

    The source said the lecturers were infuriated when the chief of staff accused three members of ASUU of testifying against the governor at the concluded governorship election petition tribunal that sat in Abuja.

    “Members of the Congress became more infuriated and told Ongolo that the university system has intellectuals drawn from all works of life and that political affiliations of three members have no bearing with the issues in dispute between ASUU and the government”, he said.

    The lecturers were said to have insisted that the government must pay three months out of the outstanding to enable them settle some of their debts and have the capacity to sustain their services at the institution.

    They were said to have told the government not to allow the students suffer at home any longer.

    Ongolo was said to have insisted that the government was desirous of ending the industrial dispute to end the agonies of students.

    He further said Governor Seriake Dickson was willing to address the infrastructural deficit in the university.

  • Labour, Oyo govt flex muscle over new school mgt initiative

    Labour, Oyo govt flex muscle over new school mgt initiative

    Workers in the employ of the Oyo State Government are currently on an indefinite strike. Seven labour leaders are in court answering charges bordering on destruction of government property, disruption of public programme and assault.

    While the government insists that the law must take its course, labour leaders rely on the strength of workers to call the latter’s bluff. The world watches with interest how both parties find a common ground to work together again to overcome the controversies attending the newly introduced partnership on school management. BISI OLADELE reviews the hullabaloo greeting the government initiative and the efforts to bring it to an end soon.

    The last two weeks have been a special moment in Oyo State with labour leaders arraigned and detained for allegedly disrupting a government meeting with stakeholders as well as destroying government property.

    In a quick reaction, the aggrieved labour leaders called out workers in the state employ to an indefinite strike with allegation of inciting secondary school pupils against the government resulting in pupils taking to the streets to protest alleged plan to ‘sell’ public schools.

    The chaotic situation was born by the decision of the state government to partner with some stakeholders on the management of some public schools as a way of improving quality of teaching and learning in the public school system.

    The state government had on May 31 published an advertisement inviting interested stakeholders to apply for partnership in managing some schools. The advertisement also invited all interested stakeholders to a meeting slated for June 1.

    But operating on the belief that the initiative was aimed at selling off public schools, labour leaders  went to the venue and protested against the idea, positing that government was out to sell out the schools under the guise of the planned Public Private Partnership (PPP). They led a protest to the stakeholders’ meeting being held the following day, with the implication that the meeting ended in a fiasco.

    Government had to reschedule the meeting to the following week while law enforcement agents arrested seven of the labour leaders including the Oyo State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Waheed Olojede.

    They were arraigned the following day and granted bail the same day. But the bail conditions could not be fully met until Monday. They spent the weekend in detention at Agodi Prison, Ibadan.

    While in detention, their colleagues served a seven-day ultimatum on the government to clear salary arrears and drop the charges against their leaders or face an indefinite strike.

    After their leaders regained freedom n Monday, labour ordered workers to commence indefinite strike on Tuesday.

    Since then, workers have stayed away from their places of assignment while government closed down public schools indefinitely to prevent a total breakdown of law and order.

    But the stakeholders meeting was held on Wednesday with labour and teachers shunning the talk shop which held under tight security.

    At the meeting, however, Governor Abiola Ajimobi appealed to stakeholders for the embarrassment of the previous week while acknowledging that the government might have made some mistakes in its approach to the initiative.

    Since then, there has been a stalemate. Government stuck to the project and continues to engage interested corporate organizations, individuals and communities It insisted that it would not interfere in the affairs of the court but indicated willingness to move forward. Labour has also rolled out the conditions government must meet before participating in any dialogue or ending the strike.

    The NLC insisted that the government must drop the charges against its leaders, clear all salary arrears and abandon or review the school management initiative.

    The situation will compound the poor financial condition of the government and also put ordinary workers in a more severe financial straits as they have only been paid till December, last year.

    While insisting that some people are deliberately misleading the public on the idea, the Special Adviser to Governor Ajimobi on Communication and Strategy, Mr Yomi Layinka, explained that the initiative was still at the preparatory stage, not yet a government policy.

    Layinka emphasized that the idea was not about returning schools to missionaries or sell to anyone but to partner with willing communities, corporate bodies and others that can raise the quality of learning.

    His words: “This initiative is not about returning schools to anybody. The government is simply inviting all interested stakeholders (not necessarily former owners, missionaries and communities) to partner with it in the sustainable management of public secondary schools.

    “We are NOT ceding, selling or privatizing public schools. The government’s intention is to partner with interested stakeholders who wish to support the government in the management of these schools. They may be alumni associations, communities, or philanthropists.

    “Presumably less than 10 per cent of the 631 public secondary schools in Oyo State are likely to be involved in this partnership.”

    Layinka added that the initiative would not take education out of the reach of the poor because “government will moderate fees in the affected schools to ensure affordability, apart from the availability of alternatives within the same environment, whose facilities will also undergo facility upgrade.”

    He added: ” The beauty of the proposed partnership is that students in the schools likely to be affected is that current students from JSS II to SSS III will continue to enjoy free education and not pay school fees until they graduate.”

    In the fate of those schools not captured in the project, Layinka explained: “All public schools in Oyo State are currently undergoing assessment and improvements, not only in the areas of infrastructure but even in terms of curricular development.

    “The recently introduced N1,000 education levy in public schools is meant for this purpose in addition to other investments intended for their upgrade and development.”

    The government spokesman added that the planned programme is open to all senatorial districts of the state, without restriction to any particular areas.

    Layinka further explained that the idea had been undertaken in Lagos, Ogun, and many eastern states. “They have successfully run various partnership models that ensure the engagement/support of the private sector working alongside their respective ministries of education.”

    He added: “The main reason is to allow for the participation of interested stakeholders in the management of our secondary schools for the greater good of our students, their parents/ guardians as well as our education management system.”

    Speaking about fears of possible religious conflicts, he said: “There shouldn’t be any fears. The government intends to ensure freedom of religious preferences through  its regulatory mechanisms and shall stoutly resist any form of religious imposition or intolerance. Our religious diversity will be maintained.”

    Also explaining how staff will not be negatively affected by the initiative, Layinka emphasized: “Fist of all, all teachers are at liberty to choose between staying with their present employer (government) and whoever becomes the partnering entity. In either case, such employee/employer  issues can easily be sorted out on terms and conditions that are mutually agreeable to both parties. Suffice to say that government will not leave any teacher at the mercy of any of its partners since government will always remain an active regulator of the relationships and standards of engagement.”

    However, labour leaders are not yet showing signs they want to back down on their demands even as Ajimobi insisted that they must apologize for allegedly disrupting the stakeholders’ meeting. The government also condemned the strike, saying it did not follow laid down guidelines.

    In the coming days, the public is expecting some surprises from, particularly the government, with many also looking in the way of elders across the state to intervene ending the logjam.

    Yet, whatever move made to bring a truce is most unlikely to prevent the initiative from transforming to a government policy.

  • NITT inaugurates Distance Learning Programmes

    The Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT) in Zaria has started Distance Learning Programmes (DLP) in Abuja and Lagos.

     

    This is contained in a statement by the Assistant Director, Press and Public Relations, Mr Paul Mshelizah, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Zaria, Kaduna State on Monday.

     

    It said the inauguration ceremonies for the programmes, which took place at Lagos and Abuja learning centres, were part of plans to reposition the institute to meet the dynamism of transportation industry.

     

    Performing the inauguration, the NITT Director-General, Dr Aminu Musa-Yusuf, said it became imperative to commence the programmes in order to diversify the institute`s courses.

     

    He said that the programmes would help to cater for students who might be unable to come to Zaria because of the distance.

     

    “Prior to this development, the institute has been running such programme on Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement with other training providers in the industry in Abuja and Lagos.

     

    “That arrangement was, however, discontinued since I assumed the mantle of leadership of the institute and management had since then been planning for the development of the outreach learning centres.

     

    “The flag-off of the Distance Learning Programmes signifies the commitment of the institute at bringing the programmes to the door steps of its clients, “ he said.

     

    While assuring participants of quality programmes equal to what were being delivered in Zaria, Musa-Yusuf congratulated them for being the pioneer participants of the institute’s Distance Learning Programme.

     

    He enjoined other employees in the transport and logistics industry to take advantage of the opportunity to improve their skills by enrolling in the programmes, which he said, were convenient and flexible.

     

    NAN reports that courses under the Distance Learning Programmes included Certificate in Transport and Logistics (CTL), Diploma in Transport and Logistics (DTL) and advanced Professional Diploma in Transport and Logistics (PDTL).

     

    The duration of the programmes is one and half years or three semesters.

  • Obiano inaugurates N6bn Onitsha Shoprite mall

    Gov. Willie Obiano of Anambra on Thursday called on investors to key into the friendly business environment created by his administration and invest in the state.

    Obiano made the call while inaugurating a shopping mall (Shoprite) in Onitsha, valued at N6 billion.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the project which started in 2013 is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between the State Government and African Capital Alliance.

    The governor, who urged residents of the state to patronise the mall, disclosed that a special security arrangement had been put in place to ensure 24-hour security.

    He also said that construction work from some areas near Onitsha, leading to the mall had commenced to ease traffic at the mall.

    The Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Solo Chukwulobelu, said that although the project was embarked upon by the immediate past administration, the present administration had spent more than 60 per cent of the total cost.

    Chukwulobelu assured that the Shoprite mall under construction in Awka would also be inaugurated soon.

    Also speaking, the Director of African Capital Alliance, Mr Osita Okonkwo, said that the project would provide jobs for over 1,000 people.

    Okonkwo said that about 70 per cent of small-scale products to be at the mall would be sourced within the state.

    “This is a shining example of what can be achieved between private and public partnership.”

    He noted that the project had resulted in the upgrading of power lines and roads in the area.

    Urging people to take advantage of opportunities offered by the mall, Okonkwo commended the government and people of the state for welcoming the investment.

    In an interview, the Chairman of the South East Traders Association, Chief Okwudili Ezenwankwo, described the outfit as an attestation of the investment friendly policy of the State Government.

    Ezenwankwo said the mall would attract more opportunities for citizens of the state and serve as an alternative to various markets in Onitsha.

  • Classic buses for classic commuters

    Classic buses for classic commuters

    LAGOS State Government has taken a major step towards easing commuters’ pains. Last Thursday; it launched 434 air-conditioned buses and inaugurated the expanded Mile 12-Ikorodu Road.

    Governor Akinwumi Ambode of Lagos State, Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu performed the ceremony.

    The buses, tagged BRT Classic or BRT Upgrade, according to the Commissioner for Transportation, Dr Dayo Mobereola, are not owned by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), or the government, but provided by a private firm on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP). The government provided the infrastructure while the private operators brought in the vehicles to run according to LAMATA’s guidelines.

    This, he said, is the hallmark of the new thinking and commitment of the government to providing safe, reliable, comfortable and affordable motorised options for discerning Lagosians who love comfort.

    The option, according to him, became imperative due to the gridlock over the last decade. He said not only would the government improve its presence in the sector, it would also ensure the reduction of vehicles on the roads, which would in no small measure ensure cleaner air and environmental preservation, because of reduced emission of carbon-monoxide and other green house gasses into the atmosphere.

    Mobereola said the new path was conceptualised in 2008, when the government began the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Scheme. He, however, admitted that “along the line we got derailed and lost that essential part of the scheme that would have attracted it to the business class and professional groups. While we concentrated attention on providing service to the masses, artisans and traders who had no opportunity and may not be able to get their own cars, we neglected to serve a critical segment who might have their cars, or have the means to buy, but may have decided against it if government had provided an alternative that is comfortable, reliable and efficient”.

    He said the result was the huge deluge of private vehicles, hundreds of which are added daily by those who have the capacity to acquire private vehicles. Mobereola said the government was determined to make motorised transportation the hub of mass transit in the state, while the waterways and the light rail would be introduced to add to public transportation alternatives for residents of the state.

    The BRT, which was introduced on March 17, 2008, on the Ikorodu-CMS route, Mobereola said, has to date carried no fewer than 350 million passengers, and these ones on the daily basis, will carry almost 450,000 passengers.

    According to the commissioner, the new thinking is that a city with 22 million people, 60 percent of who must move from one point to the other needs efficient, reliable, accessible and safe transportation system.

    Assuring Lagosians of government’s commitment, he said the Ambode administration will in the coming months flood the state with modern and comfortable BRTs adding: “this is just an example of what we planned for Lagos State”.

    Transportation experts agreed no less with Mobereola, they argued that if traffic gridlocks could be felt in developed economies of the world with advanced and fully integrated modes of transportation, Lagos with wholesale reliance on the oldest mode of transportation should be expected to worsen in the next decade if government refuses to deepen its involvement and provide leadership in the sector.

    Speaking on the road,the commissioner praised the people for their understanding and forbearance all through the planning and execution of the newly expanded road that now has the BRT road at the median, adding that 10 stakeholders’ fora in all were held, all to ensure the buys-in of residents.

    “Managing the people while construction was going on simultaneously was a great challenge. We learnt from the mistakes of the past – mostly operational.

    “We had 10 stakeholders’ fora, three before the construction work started and seven during the project. We were engaging the people at every stage and they were guiding us. It was close project that involved the community because we needed their buy-in for us to succeed.

    He said the project will improve the traffic situation along that corridor. As more people enter the BRT buses, the road will be freer; we are also doing the engineering on the road, especially at the junctions to increase the capacity of the road and make the way big enough to accommodate more traffic.

    He said the N30 billion project which was financed by the French Development Agency (AFD), the World Bank and the state government, would enhance the mobility of the people and reduce travel time between CMS and Ikorodu by 60 percent, reducing a journey which presently takes an average of two and half hours to 45 minutes. He said the BRT will give priority to public transport, which is a mass carrier for a lot of people.

    Majority Leader of the Lagos State House of Assembly representing Ikorodu Constituency 1, Hon. Sanai Agunbiade said the project will add value to the area.He, therefore, challenged the people to maintain the project to encourage the government.

    The Ayangburen of Ikorodu, Oba Kabir Sotobi, praised the government for the success of the project and called for the execution of the Ipakodo jetty, which  he said would further boost the transportation initiative of the government.

    Representative of Mr Yemi Adeola, the Managing Director of Sterling Bank Plc, (the financier of the buses), Mr Lanre Adesanya thanked the state government for giving the bank the opportunity to partner in making life better for the people of the state. He said the project would benefit no fewer than 4000 families directly and provide jobs for thousands more who would work as ticketers, vendors, mechanics, even as he said the bank has reduced the prevalence of cash in the system.