Date Published: 01/03/10

TEN REASONS WHY GOVERNOR TIMIPRE SYLVA SHOULD REORGANIZE THE FRAUDULENT DUE PROCESS BUREAU BY: THE NIGER DELTA COALITION FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE

The Government of Governor Timipre Sylva established the Due Process Bureau and E-Governance Bureau to work towards the Sustainable Development of Bayelsa State by ensuring procurement best practice on the part of all government departments; enabling Sustainable Development through the integration of ICT solutions state-wide; and ensuring that the state sustainable development strategy is properly and adequately deployed.

The goals are to:

An Opinion poll conducted by the Niger Delta Coalition For Good Governance in December 2009 revealed the Bureau has performed below the expectation of people for the following reasons:

ONE

Most public Servants in Bayelsa State regard the Due Process Bureau as a DELAY PROCESS BUREAU. The Bureau is so described because the personnel in the Bureau are generally believed to have very low capacity and experience to discharge their functions and fulfil their mandate. It is on the strength of these inadequacies that some opinion leaders have made a persistent call for the restructuring of the Bureau for efficient and effective service delivery.

TWO

The Due Process Bureau claims to have saved Billions of Naira for the State by way of weeding the Civil Service of Ghost Workers. Due Process Unit and Price Intelligence Bureau to enhance transparency, competency and competitiveness in the Process of awarding contracts. More than 90 percent of respondents believe that the Due Process has not improved good governance in terms of transparency, accountability and best practices in procurement and e-Governance.

THREE

In late 2009, the Bayelsa State House of Assembly passed into Law the Fiscal responsibility Law and the Public procurement Bills. These Laws can be built-into the operational mechanisms of government Ministries and Parastatals. This can be coordinated by the Department of Audit in the Ministry of Finance in accordance with conventional budgetary discipline. The essence is Fiscal responsibility emphasizes due process and prudence in the use of resources.

FOUR

The Due Process Bureau is not focused on its primary mandate namely: to eliminate all forms of fraud and corruption from the State public service through the deployment of appropriate technologies and procurement best practice and regulations. It is failure to carry out this function that has increased the Public Corruption Perception Index in the State, which has continued to rise and contrary to the claims made by Due Process Personnel. The economy of the Bayelsa State economy is not improving and recurrent expenditure is rising. This is an indication that the Due Process Bureau has failed.

FIVE

The Due Process Bureau has complicated the process of awarding contracts and other matters relating to financial transactions involving contractors and government. IF the Directors feel that such allegations are false, the Bureau should conduct an opinion poll and gauge the feelings of the people to know how unpopular the Bureau is among the ordinary Bayelsa People. Bayelsa people have not seen any tangible achievements recorded by the Bureau. The emphasis on best practice is just honorific, while the Bureau stinks with myriad cases of over-invoicing.

SIX

The Due Process and e-Governance Bureau also pledged to support the Governors vision of a united, secure and prosperous State. But the Bureau cannot successfully carry out this function because the Bureau has no Procurement Manual. Thus the Due Process Bureau operates on the basis of adhocracy and rule of the thumb, as it has no handbook that guides public procurement and price intelligence. Besides t he appointment of other Directors was not approved by the State House of Assembly. There is consensus among those interviewed that the nature of job can only be handled by people with sufficient experience and track-record of integrity public service. These ingredients are lacking in the subsisting Due Process Bureau

SEVEN

The Bureau coordinated the production of The finished document shows that most of the critical observations were not factored-in to the Report. For example, the document borrowed a lot from the Niger Delta Master Plan - a Regional Development Plan, which has been heavily criticized because it is divorced from the socio-cultural milieu of the Region. One of the major observations is that the plan is not people-centred and therefore not implementable and sustainable. Only angels, not Bayelsans can implement the plan. Verily, the Bureau did some desk research without need assessment, consultation with the people and more importantly an implementation blueprint.

EIGHT

One of the indications that the Bureau is not working is the spate of corruption in the Bayelsa State House of Assembly and the enars How can the BSHA make the Public Procurement Law and the Fiscal Responsibility Law work when the same people breach the laws with impunity? The Director General Mr. Von Dimieri Kemedi has refused to submit himself to the Bayelsa State House of Assembly for Scrutiny to clear himself of allegations of financial malfeasance, violation of Due Process Guidelines and sundry sharp practices crippling the State. A clear conscience fears no accusation. Why is Kemedi circumventing the due process of legislative scrutiny if his hands are clean?

NINE

The Bureau coordinated the production of the BYSSDS does not align with the above guidelines. This explains why some technocrats dismiss the document as a mere unedifying literature, with little practical value. Besides, the plan lacks two critical ingredients namely: Monitoring & Evaluation template and stakeholders participation. The BYSSDS should be reviewed urgently because it does not create a synergy between sustainable development and the critical segments of society. If the plan is made for Bayelsa people, then that synergy is required for sustainable development to happen.

TEN

Finally, respondents have called for the scrapping of the Due Process Bureau because it has abandoned its back-up role in assisting government Ministries to ensure government businesses are transacted with due regard to public procurement processes and transparency. A non-performing Bureau does not deserve the huge sums of money allocated to it. The Due Process Bureau is helping to diminish the image of government as it now serves as an avenue for fraud at the sufferance of the public good. The earlier the Bureau is reorganized the better for the image of Governor Timipre Sylva and the government. Governor Sylva should heed this clarion call.

The Niger Delta Coalition For Good Governance

nigerdeltacoalition.com

Effurun Warri, Nigeria