By Muhammad Tanko Shittu
Jos
Local government councils in Plateau State should execute projects through contractors, state legislator have tasked.
They also tasked the management committees of the councils not to hastily execute projects, to the detriment of other incoming executives.
This was the position of the State House of Assembly Committee on Local Government and chieftaincy affairs, while interacting with chairmen and members of the management committees, during an oversight tour of local councils in Northern zone of the State.
Chairman of the House committee Rt.Hon Ibrahim Baba Hassan had seek from the chairmen of the local councils to punished the committee with the the total Value Added Tax (VAT), so far received and how they were expended in their respective local governments.
A member of the committee, Hon. Saleh Yepmut, frowned at how the chairwoman of Jos North Local Government Council Hon. Theresa Azi, had embarked on project executions through direct labour.
He said: “It appeared from your explanation that the executives in the council were the same contractors that did the projects.”
“If not we want to know how such projects were carried out, because with the present recession and with contractors around, the council is also saying it has executed all projects through direct labour,” he added.
Another member of the committee Hon. Daniel Nalong, called on the management chairpersons of the local councils to desist from; “hasty,” award of contracts, “simply because your tenure has elapsed.”
According to him doing so will amount to wasting the lean resources of the council, that is meant to better the lots of the people.
“We want to see transparency and working together between the chairpersons of the councils, the members of the management committees and the directors,” he said.
The house committee on local government and chieftaincy affairs was mandated by the house to assess the level of performances of the 17 LGCs, management committees, whose one-year and half tenure ship in the councils expires on 29, December, 2016.