Transforming Kwara through Shared Prosperity
Hammed Shittu writes about the efforts of the current administration under Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed to ensure better development in Kwara state through continuity in legacy projects for economic and shared prosperity
The present administration of governor Abdulfatah Ahmed assumed office on May 29, 2011 after successful completion of second term in office of former governor of the state and now senate president, Dr. Bukola Saraki under the platform of “legacy continues”.
Upon assumption of office, the administration put in place strategies on ground as encapsulated in the legacy agenda of the administration to ensure the completion of all the inherited projects of the former administration of former governor Saraki.
It also began fashioning out new projects that would go a long way in bringing government closer to the grassroots and also accelerating the socio-economic and political agenda of the Kwarans.
Legacy Continued Governor Ahmed was the brain behind the Saraki administration in the articulation of all its economic policies, having served as commissioner for Finance for almost six and half years and later commissioner for Economic Development and Planning.
These executive positions helped to prepare him for the herculean task of leading the state into economic and shared prosperity as coined by his administration.
During his first tenure in office, Ahmed ensured the completion of all the inherited projects of the former administration in the areas of roads, education, health and other social infrastructure spread around the nooks and cranny of the state of Harmony.
Completed Roads During the period, the completion of all legacy roads within the state took place. Among such roads were Ibrahim Sulu Gambari road, Afon- Eiyenkorin, Ola-Olu- Offa garage, Offa township, Afon road, Chikanda- Kosubosu and Ero omo- Kilanko- Offa garage. All these affected roads covered over 234km roads in the state.
Also, after completion of these affected roads, Ahmed’s government embarked on operation no- pothole within the state capital and this led to the rehabilitation of all the bad roads that were damaged by rainfall to be repaired during the year under review.
Positive Projects The administration also created an employment generation platform called Kwara state bridge empowerment scheme popularly known as KWABES.
Under this, many unemployed graduates in the state were made to do a one-year scheme and after the scheme, some of them were absorbed into the state public service. Around 4,000 unemployed graduates in the state were thus given full employment during the period.
While this was on, the administration embarked on rehabilitation of five existing General Hospitals in Ilorin, Share, Offa, Kaima and Omuaran with state-of-art facilities, thus ensuring that health care delivery reaches the doorsteps of the people of the state, with lesser infant mortality among the children of the state.
The administration also embarked on the construction of new roads across the three senatorial district of the state. In the education sector, Ahmed constructed modern day school buildings while teachers’ welfare received major attention.
It also lived up to expectation in the area of ensuring the protection of lives and property through purchase of security vehicles to the state police command while transport owners like National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the Road Transport Employers Association (RTEAN) also received the administration’s support by making available buses at low interest rate to them.
Women and youths empowerment were not left out as they were given soft loans to start businesses and this has reduced social vices among the people of the state.
Core Priorities Ahmed’s works in the first term in office between 2011 and 2015 were mainly on the completion of all uncompleted projects left behind by former governor Saraki.
However, new ones were also embarked upon in the determination to ensure that the dividends of democracy get to the rural populace across the 16 local government councils of the state.
However, upon resumption in office for second term in office on May 29, 2015, the administration set the ball rolling with the commitment to add more values towards the socio economic growth of the state.
It also put in place a well-articulated internally generated revenue outfit to harness revenue base for the overall growth of the state and this has largely solved the problems of dwindling federal allocations coming to the state.
The gesture helped the state to establish a new improved revenue generating agent called Kwara Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS) and the establishment of the agency has improved the revenue base of the state, which has led to the revenue collection of over N17 billion since its inception in the state.
Infrastructure Fund Following this development, a new platform of making use of the revenue generation was designed with the theme Kwara Infrastructure Development Fund (IF- K).
IF-K is a contributory scheme designed to pool funds for high value infrastructure projects. Under the IF-K scheme, all ongoing and new developmental projects above N300 million will be funded to completion.
Among the objectives of creating IF-K is to ensure that project contractors are paid on time to deliver completed projects, thereby erasing the era of abandoned projects.
IF-K is being financed through an initial N5 billion seed fund, and a N500 million monthly contribution from the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
The Development Fund is being managed by a reputable investment company, “Investment One”, as a way of insulating the funds from political control and also to ensure accountability.
Under IF-K, contractors are paid by the State government on a quarterly basis. The implication is that contractors do not have to be mobilised before they commence projects since they are guaranteed payment at different milestones of the project; thereby giving no room for abandoned projects.
Since its establishment, the government has released over N7 billion to contractors handling various road projects across the State. The ongoing construction of Geri-Alimi split diamond Underpass is among the projects being funded under the IF-K.
Others are construction of KWASU campuses in Ekiti and Ilesha-Baruba, KWASU Post-Graduate School in Ilorin, dualisation of UITH - Sango road, new State Secretariat renovation of Indoor sport hall of the Kwara State stadium, Light Up Kwara Project (LUK), commercial hub centre along Fate road, Ilorin, Ilorin water reticulation project, provision of drugs to hospitals and clinics.
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