Delta State governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, recently had a breakfast meeting with journalists in Warri, the state capital, during which he entertained some questions. Sylvester Idowu, who was there, brings excerpts:YOU recently took a 50 billion naira bond, why did you have to do this'All over the world, bonds are taken by government to fast-track development, and there is no government that has embarked on comprehensive development that has not taken bonds. There are two reasons for this: first, bonds are cheaper than bank loans. Secondly, the rate of payment is quite long. So, they are the cheapest source of funds for development.There is no way we can get all the adequate infrastructure we are talking about, because what is very critical now is to provide infrastructure, if we want the enabling environment for job creation. We need to bring in investors and industries, and these industries will create jobs for the populace, both small and large scale industries. And, of course, one of the major infrastructure that we are talking about is roads. For us, we have taken a 50 billion naira bond from the bond market. Now, let me explain that the process of taking bonds from the bond market is very tedious. We were lucky that we were able to get ours at the time we did because other states that were also processing theirs have been caught up with the financial year and they have to start all over again. You will notice that some states that have thrived today, they have depended on bonds right from day one. We have taken 50 billion naira, while some states have taken 200 billion naira, and that is what they have been using and people from those states are not shouting. But, of course, anything in Delta State, we will always shout about.Let me say that as we are seated here today, we have not taken one kobo from the bond. The process of taking the money from the bond has been on. The various financial agencies that are involved in the process of putting the bonds together have taken their fees and what is due to Delta State is there; nobody has touched it.We have put up a process that will make impossible any leakage in that particular bond. You are also aware that it is not money that you can just spend anyhow because the process of accessing the fund is not just done by only the state government, but even financial institutions and also the Security Exchange Commission (SEC) have eyes on whatever you are taking and they have a way of monitoring it. If they notice that you are not spending the funds well, they can penalise you or stop you from having access to the fund. So, I want people to be aware that it is not a fund that anybody can just sign for and take.We have given them specific projects that we want to use the bond for and they already have the list of the projects and they are monitoring them. Each time we want to pay a contractor, they have a way of getting an alert. And they also come around to look at the projects to ask us where we are. If you noticed, as Commissioner of Health, I managed the bond that came into the ministry and the renovation work we did at that time had given the then government a good image. So, I am not a new person in terms of management of bonds.I have done it before and, by the grace of God, I was successful because most of the works we did then, there was none that scored less than 98 per cent. I want to assure Deltans that the funds will be used for what they were meant for. How far has your government gone with the upgrading of the state radio and television stations' The story of the Delta Broadcasting Service (DBS), Warri, and Asaba radio stations, I will say it is very unfortunate because we did the two at the same time and I think the one in Asaba is still working. Why I say it is very unfortunate is that I was very critical about that contractor and, to ensure that we got good quality, I said the DBS Warri and Asaba should nominate two persons that would follow the contractors to where they would buy the equipment, and the two people travelled with this contractor. I was told they certified the equipment before they were finally imported. So, what else can I do' I am a novice in radio and television and that was why I sent them with the contractor. I have discussed with the new man and I believe he is going to do a better job.What can you say about the money being paid to political appointees and the state's wage bill'This is interesting because you know that, for two months, we did not have political appointees and I thought the wage bill would reduce. But I can tell you, it is just marginal. What political appointees get, compared to the total wage bill is just marginal. Secondary school teachers alone take get 2.4 billion naira out of the seven billion naira. I can give you the break down all these our university lecturers, our polytechnics and the health sector and others, have a wage bill is quite heavy, compared to political appointees. Maybe in our next meeting I can give you a breakdown of all of them.In terms of contracts that are awarded, some payments are being made, but it has become a sing song in Delta State that contractors are not being paid. I think I will get to a point where I will begin to publish what is being paid to contractors because there is a particular contractor that I have paid up to 17 billion and he is still saying that he has not being paid and I just wondered. We paid him for all the contracts that he specified.When they get the contract award, they believe that they should get paid. But there are legal processes that have to be protected and when you ask them to submit the advance payment form, they will be going round the town saying they have not been paid. When you have not fulfilled the conditions of payment, I will not pay you.One of our major challenges is that we have not been able to get an adequate drainage system that will drain most of our roads; what we construct are gutters. I have told the engineers that we need to adequately drain our cities. We have started a drainage system in Warri and Asaba and I am not too happy with the work that is going on because if we do not get the drainage right, when we start work on the roads and when it rains, the road will be spoiled. And some of our houses are not drained. Even if you construct these gutters, some of us will use them as dumping sites. So we have this bad habit.On the issue of loans; loans were taken at that time and they were for specific projects. As for the contracts that were awarded, the total amount was very huge, but we have to do that so as to address the issue of infrastructure. Some of us are asking for infrastructure, but we do not ask where the funds will come from. I think it is very unfair when people are saying that Delta is very rich. I find this very ridiculous; we are not a very rich state and we cannot do all the things at the same time. We will need to do them gradually.When is your administration going to implement the new minimum wage, what is happening to the Warri Industrial Park and abandoned housing estates in our cities'When the agitation for minimum wage was going on, Delta State was the only state that dealt with relativity, which brought the minimum wage at that time to N17,500, which we have been paying. So, conversion from relativity to minimum wage is very marginal. It is just N500 and it will just cost us about 65 million naira a month. I have told them that if they do not pay this month, they must pay next month. We have been paying N17,500 and that is why the workers are not complaining.On the industrial park, I will say that we informed the public a little bit too early and I have learnt a lesson that you do not inform the public about a project unless you are ready to go to site. In other places, they tell public what they want to do for the process of planning, but it is very dangerous for you to do that in this government. We have awarded the contract to the administrative office and the main road to the site. The Lekki Free Trade Zone took 10 years of paper work, but, by the grace of God, we will not take 10 years. We will go to site very soon.On the housing estate, when we allocate houses, they are occupied by human beings. The current one now, we have given some to footballers, security agents and others.
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