Minister cautions River Basin boards on overzealousness

Ochekpe issued the warning at a retreat with the management staff and board members of the River Basin authorities in attendance in Abuja.She said: “I recollect vividly that my charge to the Boards at the inauguration was to pursue the mandate of your appointment in the public interest and in accordance with the Act setting […]

Ochekpe issued the warning at a retreat with the management staff and board members of the River Basin authorities in attendance in Abuja.
She said: “I recollect vividly that my charge to the Boards at the inauguration was to pursue the mandate of your appointment in the public interest and in accordance with the Act setting up the River Basin Development Authorities; the Transformation Agenda of the Federal Government and other Extant Policies and Procedures. However, some of the reports I have been receiving indicate that the modalities, rules and procedures in the exercise of the mandate of the boards are being interpreted differently from one RBDA to the other, especially as they affect powers of the board and powers of the management in procurement, appointment, promotion, discipline, fund disbursement, welfare packages and several other issues.
“In some instances, the interpretations of these mandates have been completely against the spirit of setting up the boards which are meant to assist us in the repositioning of the RBDAs to play increased role in the efforts of the Ministry in Water Resources development to enhance rural water supply. What seems to be emerging in some RBDAs is the contest for superiority between the boards and managements and sometimes with the ministry in the area of contract awards, project management, appointments; over bloated welfare packages and other administrative issues.  These issues if not properly tackled could militate against the optimal contributions of the RBDAs as critical elements for the success of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda and the socio-economic transformation of the rural areas.”
The minister noted that the RBDAs controlled over 75 per cent of the budget of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, saying that their success or failure have direct bearing on the performance of the water sector.
The minister also warned the RBDAs against breaches of official protocols, adding that several requests for urgent information on their operations from the ministry and the Presidency were not responded to as and when needed.