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Communiqué of the three-day retreat of the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing

COMMUNIQUE OF THE RETREAT FOR TOP MANAGEMENT OFFICERS AND CHIEF EXCUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE FEDERAL MINISTRY OF POWER, WORKS AND HOUSING HELD AT  SETRACO CEDAR ESTATE, LIFE CAMP, ABUJA, BETWEEN 18TH & 20TH MAY, 2017

         The Retreat for Directors, Chief Executive Officers of Parastatals and Head of Units of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing was held at the conference hall of the Setraco Cedar Estate, Life Camp, Abuja, between 18th & 20th May, 2017; with the theme: Teamwork for Optimal Productivity.

2.      The Retreat was declared open by the Hon. Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, SAN, who presided over the three day event attended by the Permanent Secretary of Works and Housing Sectors, Engr Abubakar Magaji, Directors, Chief Executive Officers of parastatals and Head of Units in the Ministry.

3.      The Permanent Secretary, Works and Housing Sectors, Engr. Abubakar G. Magaji, gave the welcome address. In his speech, he reiterated that the retreat was informed by the need for the Ministry to reposition itself in its mandate of providing the much expected infrastructure in the country including good road network, affordable housing and efficient power supply.

4.      In his keynote address, the Hon. Minister thanked all for attending the retreat, pointing out the need for the Ministry to work together as a team to synergize efforts towards achieving its mandate.  He drew the attention of the top management of the Ministry and its Parastatals to the need to acquaint themselves with one another by name and also treat each other with respect. Through this he expected that mutual respect and understanding will be built and the quality of services to be provided will be enhanced. He reminded the participants that the ministry has the largest budget because of the responsibility reposed on the ministry. Thus, this accorded maximum value and responsibility on the ministry.

5.      The event had six (6) presentations that border on the various aspects of interest to the public service. These topics are:

               i.         Public Procurement- ‘’The Challenges of Effective Execution of Public Procurement Act, 2007’’;

             ii.         Administrative Procedure in the Public Service:

·      Relationship of the Ministry with Parastatals;

·      Adherence to Extant Rules

·      Regulations and Circulars

           iii.         Effective Project Implementation in the Power, Works and Housing Sectors;

           iv.         Understanding the Emerging Electricity Industry in Nigeria       in view of the Power Sector Reform;

             v.         Budgetary Allocation, Performance and Challenges of the Ministry; and

           vi.         Health and Wellbeing Talk;

6.      The Retreat was of the view that team work among staff of the Ministry will not only bring about optimal productivity but also enhance maximum achievements of the Ministry’s goals, objectives and overall mandate. Accordingly, the Retreat resolved as follows:

               i.         appreciated the leadership of the Honourable Ministers and the Permanent Secretaries in their drive towards achieving the mandates of the Ministry;

             ii.         appreciated their wisdom to organize the Retreat with a view to synergizing efforts towards bringing together the top management staff of the Ministry to share ideas and experiences for effective service delivery;

           iii.         noted the need for support from highest political levels in the implementation of the Ministry’s projects in line with the Public Procurement Act 2007, guidelines and other extant rules governing public procurement;

           iv.         noted the need for the National Assembly to amend the Public Procurement Act, 2007 with a view to reducing the time frame of the procurement process;

             v.         noted the need to build the capacity of public officials involved in public procurement;

           vi.         noted the need to compel foreign companies involved in construction projects to sublet certain components of the projects to local/indigenous contractors with a view to building their capacity;

         vii.         noted the need for procuring entities to strictly adhere to the approved threshold as contained in the Procurement Guidelines issued by the Bureau of Public Procurement Act, 2007 and other extant rules;

       viii.         advised procuring entities to always have in place, the procurement planning committee and fast track the procurement process based on budget proposals without necessarily waiting for the passage of the Appropriation Act;

           ix.         advised that thorough scrutiny of payments to consultants for project supervision in order to obtain maximum value for money;

             x.         noted that administrative procedures are critical to maintaining  in regulating order, general principles and rules of providing public service and should be adhered to strictly;

           xi.         noted that a bureaucratic social system relies on rules, procedures, separation of functions and a hierarchical structure which should adhered to in controlling Government transactions to promote accountability, probity, openness and fairness;

         xii.         urged that the relationship between the Ministry and its parastatals should be based on respect, understanding, clear communication for effective service delivery;

       xiii.         advised that induction training should be carried out quarterly for newly appointed officers to acquaint them with the administrative procedures of the public service sector;

       xiv.         noted that effective project implementation requires specialized management skill, effective planning, budget and clearly defined scope and specific performance requirements that are expected to be made;

         xv.         observed that projects should not be implemented without  adequate feasibility studies, proper planning and supervision so that implementation is not adversely affected;

       xvi.         noted the problems associated with the privatization of the power sector and the plans to resolve them through the power sector recovery programme;

     xvii.         advised that power consumption should commensurate with the tariff paid by consumers;

   xviii.         noted the need to conduct a survey in order to develop an accurate data base of energy consumers;

       xix.         noted the need to extract the “incentives” provided under the National Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Policy;

         xx.         directed Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA), Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trader (NBET) to work together and come up with a position paper on lasting solution to the inadequate metering facilities in the country;

       xxi.         commended the Honourable Minister’s declaration of eligible customer to stimulate third party generation of power supply for distribution;

     xxii.         advised that monitoring and evaluation of projects should be given a top priority;

   xxiii.          noted that there was significant increase in budget appropriation and releases in favour of Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing in 2016 financial year;

   xxiv.         Advocated for the provision of special funds for the power sector and approval for the infrastructure Ministries to utilize all funds released even after expiration of a financial year;

     xxv.         Advocated for a new module of training by inviting the best resource persons into the country thereby affording us the opportunity of training more people at reduced cost;

   xxvi.         agreed that the Office of the Surveyor General should submit the cost estimate for National Enterprise Geographic Information System (GIS);

 xxvii.         noted the need to prioritize maintenance of existing infrastructure with a view to reducing high cost of expenditure on rehabilitation;

xxviii.         noted the need for the Ministry to look inward in addressing challenges of project implementation through team work;

   xxix.         noted the importance of health on the physical and mental well-being of individuals and staff of the Ministry which has an effect on productivity and service delivery;

     xxx.         observed that the lack of regular exercises and regular laboratory tests and checkups as well as general body maintenance have resulted in the deteriorating health status of many workers thereby reducing their productivity and general life span;

   xxxi.         advised that there should be a minimum decent dress code requirement for public servants to portray the good image of the country;

 xxxii.         directed Directors of Planning Research and Statistics and Finance and Accounts to come up with a comprehensive calendar of activities for the year

xxxiii.         agreed to hold top management staff retreat every quarter and that the retreat for the Third and Fourth Quarters should hold in August and November, 2017 respectively; and

xxxiv.         appreciated participants for the full attendance at the Retreat and wished them journey mercies to their various destinations.

ISSUED TODAY, SATURDAY, 20TH MAY, 2017 AT CEDAR ESTATE, LIFE CAMP, ABUJA

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