By Marie-Therese Nanlong
Jos – Public procurement and contracts awards ought to be transparent, but in most cases, these exercises are made so complicated that ordinary citizens, the intended beneficiaries of such projects/services pay less attention to such issues.
The often-detached citizens only wait and sometimes endlessly for the delivery of such projects/services for public use.
Examples abound in some constituencies’ projects executed by lawmakers in Plateau State. As the initiators of these projects are about to transit from office, citizens express worry that the projects which they do not know the timeframe they were to be completed may be abandoned as new lawmakers emerge for the 10th State Assembly.
This investigation took a look at the level of implementation of contracts awarded for construction of select Primary Healthcare Centres in Plateau State initiated four years ago, as the current administration of Governor Simon Lalong grinds to an end on May 29.
• Non-completion of PHC Dogon Agogo affects women the most – Hajia Khalid
For instance, at the Primary Healthcare Centre, PHC Dogon Agogo, (Ibrahim Katsina Ward) of Jos North local government area where the lawmaker representing the Jos North/North State constituency, Ibrahim Baba-Hassan lobbied for expansion/extension of the clinic, the job is yet to be completed despite several promises.
The process for award of the contract was not transparent as community members could not remember how the project came about because they were not aware of any bidding information nor is there any signpost at the site to give information about the project, who awarded the contract and who is the contractor/company handling the project etc.
Basic contract information which should be displayed at the site includes but not limited to the contract name/information, contract reference number, date of award and contract duration.
But the citizens’ only concern is having the project which started almost four years ago completed for immediate use.
A visit to the facility over a week ago revealed that it has been roofed, painted and some doors fixed but the burglary, windows, and the internal work like flooring, fixing of the toilets, and other things are not yet done.
PHC Dogon Agogo, (Ibrahim Katsina Ward) of Jos North local government painted without windows. Credit: Marie-Therese Nanlong.
Stakeholders like the officer in charge of the facility, Mrs. Hannatu Semshak, the community leader, Ibrahim Bala, the Ward Development Committee, WDC Secretary, Mohammad Ibrahim, the Women Leader, Ashafahu Khalid called for speedy completion of the project.
According to Semshak, “When I took over in January 2023, I saw the project and from January to now there has been some progress in the work because when I came, plastering was not there, fixing of windows, roofing was not there. But they have done roofing, they have done plastering. They have gone ahead to put two doors. They have also gone ahead to paint it but there is still work that is left undone.
“My heart’s desire is for the work to be completed because when I came in in January, there was an assurance that by February 2023 they were coming to commission this place, but up to this moment, it has not been completed. I’m not happy as a nurse, as a health worker to stay in a very congested environment.
“If anything, like Lassa fever, any infectious disease happens here, most people will be affected and infected because of the congestion of people. My plea to the owners of this building is that they should speed up the work so that we have enough space to move and work, you can see the influx of people here.
“We have the antenatal aspect, we have immunisation, we have family planning and we have areas where we do the minor treatment, which is a consultancy area. We need beds for patients in the wards, we need examination beds, we need delivery beds, an emergency theatre, and a medical doctor so that if a woman comes into the second stage of labour and for she to run to the next place is impossible, we will see how to save her life and the baby. We need equipment and appropriate personnel too.”
Bala, the community leader noted, “this new building has been here for a long time, so we expected the person that is building it to complete it for us so that we use it. It is one of the State Assembly Members, Ibrahim Baba-Hassan. I don’t know the contractor handling this project, they did not put anything like a signpost, to show what they are doing. It’s just between the contractor and the person that told them to construct the building.
“When he came to meet people for his election, we brought the issue to him and he said that he will try to complete the building. This is May, they are leaving office by the end of this month. So, I beg Baba-Hassan to come and complete this assignment that he started before leaving the office.”
The WDC Secretary added, “the contractor working on this project is a community person from our neighbouring Ward. I don’t know how much it will cost for this work to finish but on behalf of the community of this Ibrahim Katsina Ward, we are appealing to the government to try their best to see that they release the money for this project to be completed because the contractor said he was expecting money from the government to complete the work.
“This PHC is not only people from the Ibrahim Katsina Ward, other neighbouring communities patronise this clinic, so I’m appealing to the government to help us, to help the community, to help the people of this local government, to come to our aids to see that they finish the construction of this PHC before the end of this tenure.”
Hajia Khalid the Women Leader stated, “Non-completion of this project affects the women very well, women and men are in the same Ward. The project was for us to have space to separate the patients, the WDC has been worried about how everyone, children, adults, males, and females stay in the same ward, they partition the place with curtains but it is not ideal.
“We want where children will have a separate ward, the men and the women to occupy separate wards, our appeal is for the work to be completed because it is not proper to continue to spread sickness because everyone is in one place. Women are not comfortable staying in the same ward with men, we are shy in such a situation. Our prayer is for Baba-Hassan to complete the project and get the blessings.”
However, the contractor of the project identified as Sule whose company could not be confirmed at the time of this report said, “This is a constituency project and it is progressing but we still have some funds that the government is supposed to pay, hopefully, they may pay us this week (8th to 12th May). If they pay, the work would be completed. It is a prototype work with a certain amount pegged for it but a lot of inflation caused us to write to them for variation.
“The Agency (Primary Healthcare Board) that awarded the work has the full details, speak with them, we did not have a signpost because there was no provision for a signpost in our bill of quantity. The Board would show you if there is a provision for a signboard or not. If there is no provision for such things, we won’t just go ahead and put things that are not on the bill, even the design was from the Board, they are in the better position to explain things.”
Sule confirmed that the initial amount for the project was “N20 million but we had to write for an additional N5 million making it N25 million. We will manage to finish the work. It is not about profit anymore but about finishing the job. Bit by bit, we have collected about N17 million N18 million, or thereabout.
“From the humanitarian aspect, I want that work to be finished because I saw how constrained the present clinic is and we intend to finish the work even if we leave office and they pay us, we will finish the work because it is one of our constituency projects, the legacy we intend to leave behind.”
•N9.99 million spent out of N10 million budgeted for PHC clinic in Dogon Agogo yet uncompleted
However, information obtained from the Plateau State year 2021 audit report in its details of total capital expenditures said that N10 million was budgeted for the said project, and over N9.9m has so far been spent.
It stated in its code 23020106 that, “The Construction of Primary Health Care Clinic, Dogon Agogo, Jos North North actual 2021, N9,995,238.88, budget 2021, N10,000,000.00.”
All efforts to speak with the Member representing Jos North/North Constituency at the State House of Assembly, Ibrahim Baba-Hassan who lobbied for the project were unsuccessful because, despite repeated calls, all his known phone numbers were not reachable.
• Community raises concern over poor handling of PHC project in Gumshir
The situation at PHC Gumshir, Dengi State constituency in the Kanam local government area of the State is not different. Apart from the dilapidated facility with cracks in the walls, and broken windows, tables, chairs, and doors which beg for attention, the recommended contracting process was also flouted.
The report quoted earlier says all is well with the clinic because in its code 23030105 “Renovation and Purchase of Hospital Clinic Equipment Gumshir Ward, Dengi Constituency, actual 2021 is 5,000,000.00, budget 2021 is 5,000,000.00 and the percentage variance is 100.00.”
Citizen Adamu Jimoh said of the clinic, “Visiting this clinic aggravates one’s sickness. The environment is not fit to be called a health facility but what choice do we have? When we saw the new structure being erected, we had hope for better days but it seems the better days are still far ahead.”
A visit to the facility in May 2023 showed that the project was not executed despite the urgency needed to change the dilapidated condition of the facility.
The uncompleted PHC building in Gumshir, Dengi State constituency, Kanam local government area with cracked walls.Credit: Marie-Therese Nanlong
The Officer-in-Charge of the facility, Micah Adamu, told this reporter that “no renovation works or supply of medical equipment has been carried out since 2021 till date. If a male patient and a female patient come, we keep them in the same place. There is no privacy, we are managing what we have but for how long?”
The Councillor representing the Gumshir Ward, Dalhatu Garba added that not having a functional health facility in the community is causing a lot of hardship to patients as he stated, “There is no place to even admit the patients when they come. They are discharged immediately because they cannot sleep there due to lack of space.”
However, all is not well with the new structure which is still at the lintel level as there are several cracks on the walls of the uncompleted structure and as the general practice, there is no information about the contractor or the project because there is no signpost at the site and residents contacted say they know nothing about the contractor.
• Lawmaker blames Ministry for delay and poor supervision
When contacted the Member representing the Dengi State constituency, Seleh Yipmong who nominated the project, blamed the situation on lack of funds and asked this reporter to visit the State Ministry of Finance to find out why the project is not completed.
His words, “… you need to get information from the Ministry, not me. The project is not completed, did you go to the Ministry to find out what is happening there? Go to Primary Healthcare. I am the Member representing that community there is an existing Primary Healthcare there, the long clinic that is dilapidated.
“When I wanted to work there, on the need assessment of the community I put it as a constituency project to renovate that clinic so when I put it in the budget, the Primary Healthcare Board went to inspect and made a recommendation that the amount that was initially quoted which was N5 million could not do the work with the level of dilapidation.
“They recommended that we should either build a new one or go ahead and do whatever we wanted to do. That was in 2021 so I added another N5 million to become N10 million for a new structure. If you check the budget, you will see the quoted amount for that work which is N10 million. That is why you see that the work is at the stage that it is today.”
Reacting to the cracks in the new structure, he queried, “Am I the builder? That is why I say you should go to the Ministry; there are inspectors there. Constituency projects are done in the Ministry, I quoted it, I am the one that fixed it and they are the ones who are supervising and carrying out the work. If there is a crack, what do you want me to tell you?
“If I am no longer a member, does that mean the constituency would be cancelled? If the money is not available, do you want me to steal and finish it? If they didn’t pay the money, what do you want me to do? Go to Finance and ask them why? Once the money is released, they pay it to the contractor that was chosen by the Ministry.”
• Secrecy in public procurement continues, despite claims by DG of BPP in Plateau State
Recall that the Plateau State Bureau of Public Procurement Law 2018 has spelt out guidelines on how contracts should be awarded and implemented and open contracting which the State has keyed into is about publishing timely and accessible procurement information to engage the public in identifying and fixing problems around procurement.
Despite these, secrecy still surrounds the award and execution of contracts but the Director-General of Plateau State Bureau of Public Procurement, Builder Peter Dogo insists that there is an improvement in the level of compliance by Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, on the procurement processes.
He said, “At least there is a level of compliance by MDAs if you compare it before the existence of the Bureau. When we came on board in 2017, we reduced the threshold to ensure that most of the procurement is passed through the Bureau…
“We have decided to bring all MDAs together so that we can carry out training and retraining on procurement plan and implementation… Once you have an item on the budget, you have to start the plan on how it will be implemented, very soon we are going to roll out this training for all the MDAs.”
Attempts to get comments from the Executive Secretary of Plateau State Primary HealthCare Board, Dr. Livinus Miapkwap were unsuccessful. He did not respond to several calls to his known phone number at the time of filing this report.
Also, the State Commissioner for Finance, Mrs. Regina Soemlat could not be reached more so as the State workforce had commenced an indefinite strike action at the time of this report but it was discovered that before the commencement of the strike action on Thursday, May 11, 2023, the payment vouchers had been raised so contractors could be paid.
• CSO advocates citizens’ inclusion in public procurement process
Meanwhile, the Accountability Lab Nigeria which is committed to promoting civic participation, inclusion, and accountability in communities across Nigeria has called on citizens to get involved in procurement processes to ensure accountability.
The organisation tasked media practitioners, civil society organisations, tech-preneurs, and other critical stakeholders to engage, create awareness and ensure citizens are enlightened and sensitised to participate fully in issues of public procurements.
The Country Director of Accountability Lab Nigeria, Friday Odeh stressed getting involved would bridge the widening gaps which exist between citizens and governments in the procurement processes.
He maintained, “The quest for transparency and accountability in public procurement cannot be achieved without the media, civil society organisations and other critical stakeholders who can reach out to the larger society and guide them on how to contribute their quota in the procurement process. We are yearning for the dividends of democracy; we want people to engage in the governance process to ensure positive transformation in the society.”
Shiiwua Mnenga of the same organisation added, “there is a need for citizens’ involvement to improve the level of transparency and accountability in the public procurement processes.”
At the time of this report, a group of journalists in the State, empowered by the organisation, is creating awareness in communities and sensitising citizens to get actively involved in the procurement processes to ensure transparency and accountability.
But this isolated effort is a drop in the ocean, other stakeholders should intensify efforts using the mass media to explain to citizens understanding why they should not stay aloof where issues of public procurement are concerned.
