Transparency: A Pillar of the Restoration Administration
“On transparency, we believe that it is the right of the people of the state, to know what funds accrue to the coffers of the state and the various local government councils and how they are utilized. This is the only way to secure the trust and confidence of the people in whom sovereignty lies. I have directed all local government chairmen to comply with this paradigm shift on the issue of transparency, probity and accountability, to reflect the new Bayelsa we are building”…..Governor Seriake Dickson
In his inaugural address on assumption of office on the 14th of February 2012, Governor Henry Seriake Dickson established an article of faith to demonstrate the highest level of transparency in governmental transactions.
The Contriman Governor pledged to operate an open government – with transparency and accountability as beacons of leadership. This sworn affidavit was made in the recognition of the fact that not only is transparency a solid pillar of good governance, it also minimizes corruption and enhances public trust.
Transparency refers to the availability of information to the general public and clarity about government rules, regulations, and decisions. It also implies procedures including open meetings, financial statements disclosure, and freedom of information legislation, budgetary review, and audits.
To these, we can include periodic verification of staff with a view to cleaning-up the vouchers. Transparent governance, therefore, means not hiding anything from the citizens, not engaging in shady deals or not making whimsical or discretionary decisions outside the ambit of laid down processes.
True to type, Governor Seriake Dickson hit the ground running and initiated the Monthly Transparency Briefing Initiative, which provided a platform for government to communicate to stakeholders on the monies accruing to the State and how such monies are being expended in the various sectora of the economy. This is the first administration that has operated demonstrably openness in the transaction of financial matters since the creation of Bayelsa State.
One of the challenges this administration has had to grapple with right from the onset the haphazard process of governmental transactions in the past administration, which drove governance into a cul-de-sac of despair. The Restoration Administration met an empty treasury, a bloated wage bill and an inexplicable debt burden. This prompted the setting up of the 11-man Bayelsa State Financial Review Committee with a mandate to look into the finances of the State. It was also revealed that most of the loans, including bonds obtained by the previous administration were dead-weight loans, which were used in a frivolous manner and not for the execution of people-oriented development projects. In spite of massive misappropriation of public funds, a huge debt burden was left behind. Vouchers were inundated with “Ghost Names” wage bill was bloated and it was corruption incorporated. The Restoration Administration turned the tide in favour of an accountable and transparent government So far, practical steps have been taken to promote a transparent regime.
One of such steps was the initiation of the Bayelsa State Transparency Bill 2012, which was passed into law. The purpose of the Law is to make it obligatory for all tiers of government (State and LGAs) to publicly declare to Bayelsans, all revenues that accrue to them as well as a summary of expenditures. Since then government has been consistent in discussing its policies and finances publicly with her citizens. This push for transparency has placed a burden on the third-tier of government to do monthly transparency briefing. All political office holders are also enjoined to do so.
Since then, the administration, moved by pragmatic zeal, has taken some measures include to strengthen transparency in the State. Some of the measures include:
<>l.Periodic staff verification to weed out “ghost workers” from the payrolls and to prevent payroll fraud. This has paid off by way of drastic reduction of wages.
<>l.Transparent award of contracts within the confines of budgetary provisions
<>l.Creating ample opportunity for MDAs to participate in the budget making process and other laws that are critical to the wellbeing of the people.
<>l. Evolving a media programmes like the “Hot Seat”, the “The Podium” etc for stakeholders to express themselves and for political office holders to give period account of their stewardship.
<>l.Putting the policies, plans and programmes of government on the cyber space including online publishing websites.
<>l.Monthly transparency briefing initiative <>l.Open-budgeting system <>l.Transparent award of contracts <>l.Accountability of government income and expenditure
<>l.Reconstitution of the e-Governance & Due Process Bureau
<>l.Re-organization of the Central Treasury; Internal Revenue Board; SUBEB
<>l.Repositioning the price intelligent unit <>l.Encouraging principal officers of government to use the social media for reporting their achievements.
<>l. Encouraging Council Chairmen to be render account on a monthly basis to the people
<>l. Enforcing the policy of Zero tolerance for corruption, among others.
<>l.Establishment of a Special Tribunal to probe Payroll fraudsters and evolving a quick mechanism for the trial of culprits.
A range of instruments to help governments ensure that openness translates into concrete improvements in key activities of government such as the Principles for Integrity in Public Procurement and the Best Practices for Budget Transparency. Now, government provides policy guidelines designed to improve access and increased use of public sector information through greater transparency, enhanced competition and more competitive pricing.
The crescendo of the push for transparency by the Restoration administration is the decision by government to open a tailor made website called “The Bayelsa Watch” which constitutes a repository of all transparent efforts of government from inception to the present day. The public can access the website on www.bayelsawatch.org . This is the website Governor Seriake Dickson has launched on June 20th June, 2016 in Yenagoa.
Transparency ensures that information is available that can be used to measure the authorities' performance and to guard against any possible misuse of powers. In that sense, transparency serves to achieve accountability, which means that authorities can be held responsible for their actions.
Transparency increases the trust and confidence between government and the governed. Verily, Bayelsa State under the Governor Seriake Dickson Administration has created an unbeatable record in Nigeria. It is germane to assert that Bayelsa State is the is the most transparent State in Nigeria, and this is incontrovertible.