By Roseline Irek and Kingsley Agim
Paraphrasing the words of Irene Blecker Rosenfeld, an American businesswoman: “The most important role of a leader is to set a clear direction, be transparent about how to get there and to stay the course.”
The import of Rosenfeld’s postulation vividly portrays Governor Ben Ayade’s firm determination in catapulting Cross River from her hitherto inglorious status as a ‘civil service’ State to the enviable height as one of the most industrialized states in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa.
From the onset of his administration in 2015, Governor Ayade came with a blueprint of Agro-industrialization. He made his vision for the State clear enough, with the signature projects of the Super Highway and Bakassi Deep Seaport topping his to-do list.
Although paucity of funds (paltry allocation) has hindered the speedy actualization of the signature projects, the exuberance of the numerous Agro-industrial projects sprouting across the State has been an encouraging economic indicator that the signature projects would have been a done deal.
Whereas listing the over 30 Agro-industrial projects would seem a sort of task that makes this piece lengthier than it ought to be, the Calabar Rice Seed and Seedlings Multiplication Factory, the Noodles Factory, the Garment Factory, the Calachika Factory, the Ikom Cocoa Processing Factory, the Ogoja/Yala Ultramodern Rice Mill, and a lot of others are worth mentioning, and accentuates Cross River State as the pivot of Agro-industrialization among the comity of Nigerian states.
The clairvoyance of the amiable Professor Ayade has since made the State a host to notable personalities like President Muhammadu Buhari, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefele, state governors, as well as numerous investors, with huge patronage of ‘made in Cross River’ goods, while some others visit to understudy the ‘Ayade wonder.’
With the Governor poised to complete all projects and put them to use, the present administration’s industrialization drive has already impacted positively on the citizenry and spiked the State’s economic fortunes.
Interestingly, with Governor Ayade not wanting to see his unprecedented giant strides plummeted in oblivion at the turn of a new administration, as it has been the case of successive governments; he unprecedentedly called for a referendum through the State Privatization Council handling over the citizens of the State the right to decide the ownership of the litany of industries, spanning over 40 in the State, with privatization, concession, and state ownership as options to choose from. By this, Cross Riverians are to visit their Local Government Council Headquarters for the forms or participate online via www.crspc.org for this all-important exercise.
Privatization here means to change from public to private control or ownership. And the following are some of its advantages:
SAVES TAXPAYERS’ MONEY:
By applying privatization techniques to state services, infrastructure, facilities, enterprises, and land, comprehensive state privatization programmes can reduce program costs. The States can also realize large one-time windfalls from the sale or lease of State infrastructure and facilities. Moreover, privatization can put an end to subsidies to previously government-run operations.
Privatization also creates a steady stream of new tax revenues from private contractors and corporations who pay taxes and license fees, while state units do not.
IMPROVES SERVICE QUALITY:
A number of surveys have indicated that public officials believed service quality was better after privatization. If competitive bidding is instituted for a service, service quality can improve even if the service is retained in-house. The reason is simple: competition induces in-house and private service providers to provide quality services in order to keep complaints down and keep the contract.
INCREASES FLEXIBILITY:
Privatization gives state officials greater flexibility to meet program needs. Officials can replace the private firm if it is not meeting contract standards, cut back on service, add to service during peak periods, or downsize as needed.
INCREASES EFFICIENCY AND INNOVATION:
Private management can significantly lower operating costs through the use of more flexible personnel practices, job categories, streamlined operating procedures, and simplified procurement. Private ownership can stimulate innovation. Competition forces private firms to develop innovative, efficient methods for providing goods and services in order to keep costs down and keep contracts. These incentives, for the most part, do not exist in the public sector.
ALLOWS POLICY MAKERS TO STEER, RATHER THAN ROW:
Privatization allows state officials to spend less time managing personnel and maintaining equipments, thus allowing more time to see that essential services are efficiently delivered.
STREAMLINES GOVERNMENT:
Privatization is one tool to make bureaucracies smaller and more manageable. Large private corporations often sell off assets that are underperforming or proving too difficult to manage efficiently. Under new owners and leaner management, such divisions often receive a new lease on life.
IMPROVES MAINTENANCE:
Private owners are strongly motivated to keep up maintenance in order to preserve the asset value of the investment in the facility. Public owners often defer maintenance due to political considerations, increasing overall long-term costs.
While concession comes with the following advantages:
• Private sector bears a significant share of the risks;
• High level of private investment; potential for efficiency gains in all phases of project development and implementation and technological innovation is high.
Cross Riverians must rise up to contribute in the decision making process that would shape the fate of the many government owned assets in order for the State not to lose its stripes as the new industrial hub of Nigeria at the dawn of a new government in 2023 and beyond.
In taking all these into consideration, we must not be oblivious of the fact that Governor Ayade is staying the course for sustained economic emancipation and prosperity of Cross River State.
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