GIVEN the high cost of governance and the need to cut cost and reduce wastage, the recommendation of the Presidential Committee on the Rationalization and Restructuring of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies, for the merger or outright scrapping of some of the outfits is notable, and a step in the right direction. There is no doubt that government is bloated with multiplicity of agencies, some of which perform no visible functions and yet incur huge annual budget on their upkeep. The Jonathan administration should seize the opportunity of this report to effect the much-touted reduction in the cost of governance. The report should be implemented with necessary changes made to achieve that objective.The report captures the mood of the moment with regard to the rising cost of governance in this austere time. The thrust of the Stephen Oronsaye committee report is its recommendation for the rationalisation of such agencies as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent and Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and the Nigeria Communication Satellite (NigComSat), because they are performing duplicated and conflicting functions.The committee also recommended the reduction of the 263 statutory commissions, departments and agencies to 161. Altogether, it wants 38 agencies scrapped, 32 merged and 14 others reverted to departments. Furthermore, it wants a management audit to be conducted on 89 agencies with biometric data capture of staff to reduce the high cost of governance, which it said, is the highest in the world.Notably too, President Goodluck Jonathan in receiving the report assured the nation of full implementation and not shelf it to gather dust like previous reports. The President probably had in mind the Allison Ayida Report of 1995 and the Ahmed Joda Report of 1999, both of which made similar useful recommendations that were never implemented. Nigerians expect the President to live by his word on this occasion.The problem at hand arose from bad governance, manifested over the years by the creation of organizations indiscriminately instead of addressing problems proactively. The proliferation of these agencies, ostensibly created to boost performance, was counter-productive as they end up not necessarily to improve the system but to satisfy political and individual interests. Often, all that was required was to empower the original organizations, and enlarge their capacity to perform.For instance, there would have been no need for the EFCC, ICPC and the FRSC if the Nigeria Police possessed the needed capacity to perform. The job of these agencies fall essentially within the ambit of the traditional duties of the police. Consequently, there is duplication of roles by these organizations, a development that could have been avoided. There is no specialization as it were, when four organizations perform overlapping functions. Sometimes, there is clash of interest. The police in particular have been incapacitated, as much of Its duties have been reassigned to new agencies.The EFCC was created out of the Nigeria Police, which was unable to tackle serious cases of corruption that was wrecking the country. Corruption in Nigeria, no doubt, deserves special treatment. The head of EFCC ever since it was created has always been taken from the police. Unfortunately, the EFCC is turning out to be more like another arm of the police, rather than an autonomous special department. Its officers and men are trained by the police. The same fate applies to the FRSC, which handles the duties of the traffic department of the police, among other duties.It is sad that government sees every problem as requiring a special agency to handle. And worse, the agencies were always given to political cronies as reward, resulting in bloated, wasteful government. There is a crying need for government to correct the misnomer of duplicated agencies and personnel, with its consequent burden on government, which is a problem the Oronsaye committee tried to highlight. Streamlining the agencies will obviously present fresh challenges, including legal constraints; but government should endeavour to whittle down the agencies to the barest minimum, both to enhance efficiency and reduce waste.The Oronsaye committee's recommendations are reasonable, and their implementation is desirable for the various potential advantages. The report is a booster for the desired calls for prudence in running government.It should not be unexpected that some civil servants, especially, those benefitting from the agencies; and for other selfish or mundane reasons, would kick against the report. But the president must be resolute to implement the recommendations in the public interest, and for once, to imbue government work with diligence and decorum.
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