Govt. has no plan to lay off workers in Delta, says Tilije

The Commissioner for Water Resources Development, Sir Fidelis Tilije,
said the State Government has no plans to lay-off workers.
Sir Tilije gave the clarification today at a sensitization forum on
 Public-Public Partnerships (PUPs) on water in Asaba the Delta State
capital, against fears in some quarters that the Public Private
Partnerships (PPPs) concessioning of the Warri/Effurun Water Scheme
would bring about loss of jobs.

The Commissioner disclosed that the PPP arrangement on the
Warri/Effurun Water Scheme had reached advanced stage, saying the
project would not lead to job loss as there were no workers engaged
present but rather had the capacity to create jobs in line with the
SMART Agenda of the Governor Ifeanyi Okowa administration.
He said that the State Government was conscious of the trying
economic times and would not engage in any arrangement that would
further worsen the condition of the less privileged, saying when the
project was fully operational, the cost of purchasing a litre of water
would be cheaper than the current price given by private producers of
water.
   
Describing the method of distribution as very convenient, Sir Tilije,
said every consumer would be provided with a pre-paid metre, which
according to him, would be maintained for through the recharge card
method similar to those of GSM providers. 
The Water Resources Development Commissioner said apart from those
who would be directly engaged in the running of the Scheme, the sale
of recharge card for public water supply would further create chains
of jobs for Deltans.

He said the quality of water that would be produced and distributed
would be safe and potable, stressing that it would reduce the health
bills of those utilizing it as against the many untreated private
boreholes scattered all over the twin cities of Warri and Effurun.

Noting that the time of conception of the Warri/Effurun Water Scheme
was as old as Delta State since 1993, with an initial seed capital of
$ 54 million, the Commissioner said N18.5 billion had so far been
expended on the project without producing a drop of water, but gave an
assurance that with the arrangement on ground, the scheme would start
producing and distributing water to the benefiting towns within the
next 18 months.

The President of the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil
Service Technical and Recreation Services Employees (AUPCTRE), Comrade
Solomon Adelegan, in a keynote address, said the Public-Public
Partnerships (PUPs) should be embraced by governments at all level,
saying the profit motivation behind Public Private Partnerships (PPPs)
had remained a burden on the masses.

In a lecture on the advantages of PUPs over PPPs, the presenter,
Professor Emanuele Lobina of the University of Greenwich, United
Kingdom, said studies all over the world indicated that Public-Public
Partnerships were gradually replacing Public Private Partnerships.  
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Labour and Industrial
Relations, Comrade Mike Okeme and the Functioning Permanent Secretary
Odogun were among dignitaries that graced the occasion.