No more payments for uncompleted constituency projects – Minister

Many constituency projects paid for had been abandoned in the past.

The Minister of Special Duties and Inter-governmental Affairs, Kabiru Turaki, on Tuesday said there would be no more payment for uncompleted constituency projects.

The minister, who said this while speaking with newsmen in Abuja, explained that his ministry was repositioning its machinery to ensure effective completion of projects before payments were made.

He said that although the ministry still faced the challenge of funding, there were plans for partnership with other ministries to ensure its success.

“The Federal Government, in its determination to ensure effective execution of constituency projects of members of the National Assembly, has mandated this ministry to verify and recommend for payment all projects executed,” he said.

“We believe that as the people that have the mandate of Mr. President to monitor the implementation, we will now come in alongside with the implementing MDAs. We will not just sit back and expect inputs from MDAs to the effect that projects have been concluded and then expecting that we will authorise payment.

“So, the whole thing has been arranged and conceptualised in such a way and manner that from the very first beginning of the processes, the ministry must be informed. The ministry must be carried along and then the ministry must participate in them.

“Now, when we are satisfied that these projects have been executed in accordance with the mandate and to the satisfaction of the owners of these projects, we will then issue necessary instructions for payment to be effected to these contractors,” he said.

He said constituency projects would now be executed using the SURE-P model where the MDAs under which the projects were domiciled would drive the projects.

The minister said that the MDAs would begin right from advertising for the jobs, pre-qualifying of the contractors, up to the point of awarding contracts.

He said that initially, once a member of the National Assembly situated his project in a particular MDA, the MDA would issue the contract and pay the contractors.

“Now, after contracts have been awarded also comes the issue of monitoring and evaluation of these projects.

“To ensure more transparency, we have resolved that these projects henceforth will be done in accordance with SURE-P model so that no more complaints will arise,” he said.

He said that some lawmakers also complained that their projects were sometimes abandoned by the ministries under which they were domiciled, but added that his ministry would not relent in making it a success.

Mr. Turaki added that even President Jonathan, in recognition of the relevance of the projects to the masses, had also taken special interest in the successful execution of the projects.

He said that the aim of the Special Duties Ministry was to ensure that at the point of the commissioning of constituency projects, there would be no complaints from the executive, legislature or the people.

The minister assured Nigerians that his ministry and all other relevant MDAs would ensure that many constituency projects would be executed within the remaining period in 2013.

(NAN)