DICKSON APPROVES #10BN FOR BDIC’s TAKE-OFF…, BAYELSANS DEMAND TO KNOW GAIN-INCOME, INCREASE-CAPITAL & SAFETY OF PRINCIPAL

Dei B. Badou, a Public Affairs analyst writes from Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital - 08067480290 
  
Quote:- Bayelsa State Governor Hon. Seriake Dickson has inaugurated the Bayelsa State Development and Investment Corporation [BDIC] in May 2013 with an initial take-off grant of #10bn, saying, that the gesture was to enable the state to diversify from oil and gas sector of the economy.   

Disclosing this at an inaugural Board Retreat of [BDIC] held at the weekend in Yenagoa, Governor Dickson said this would assist the corporation in performing its statutory functions, which include attracting local and foreign investors to the State, boosting its economic profile and providing an economic blue-print for the State.

Governor Dickson stressed the importance of the board members of the [BDIC] to participate in the present administration’s efforts to turn the economy of the State around, adding that it has become imperative for the State to diversify from oil and gas sector of the economy in view of non-renewable natural resource and emerging global economic market trends.
According to him, “the new Bayelsa that we all crave for, the new Bayelsa that we actually deserve, that new Bayelsa can only be founded on prosperity and security. Government is building roads and bridges, schools and so on, but in vain do we all of this, if these activities do not translate to economic prosperity and opportunities for our people.”

Stressed the need for active involvement of the Organized Private Sector [OPS] in the development process of the State, Hon Dickson said Government should have little or no business in running commercial enterprise, adding that his administration believes in free enterprise.

“Our government is a believer of free enterprise. It believes that the private sector is best suited to promoting enterprise, creating wealth, sustaining development. Government should, therefore, have very little business in running business,” he said.

On the expected role of the [BDIC], the governor pointed out that the corporation was to serve as a catalyst for economic growth and prosperity, and not to usurp the functions of the ministries, departments and other agencies of the government.

He submitted, the BDIC is not intended to take the place of the ministries in this state.  It is not a body that is higher than the ministries and government of this State.

The BDIC’s role is not policy formulation. That will continue to reside in the state government and its formal organs. However, it will be the duty of the BDIC to drive those activities that are investment related.

“It is the instrument for driving investment; attracting investment and, directly investing. Also, because it is a creation of our laws, there will always be necessary collaboration with other organs of government”, he added.

In his bid to strengthen the economic base of the state and place it on a higher pedestal, Governor Dickson urged the management of BDIC to bring their wealth of experience to bear on the corporation’s mission, especially in the areas of building a formidable conglomerate.

“We have instances of Odua Group of Companies and other similar within this country. Outside the shores of the country, we have sovereign entities like Investment Development Corporation (IDC), South Africa, and that of Rwanda and so many others.

“These models exist and that is the level we want to take our State to. Let me emphasize that going forward, all capital investment that have business elements will be undertaken by the BDIC”.
On the issue of funding, the governor disclosed, that “the BDIC will enjoy from now till the end of current budget year, a capital injection of between #5bn-#10bn from the Government of Bayelsa State. This is to enable the BDIC perform effectively.” Unquote!

The above inaugural speech by Governor Dickson revealed the governor’s good intention for the State; particularly in areas of development, investors/investments, industrialization and, corporate capitalization from investments with a view to catapulting Bayelsa and her people to economic self-reliance and prosperity.

But, it is sad and unfortunate three years after this laudable inaugural speech; BDIC is yet to attract single investors/investments that would catapult Bayelsa to an investment hub as assured by the governor.

According to development theorists, Development is a change in socio-economic activities and government policies that improve the people’s standard of living and quality of life in a geographical entity which It is usually measure by individual income, access to wholesome water supply, access to affordable adequate health care services, access to affordable standard of education, constant power supply, and free social human development schemes among others.

Unfortunately, none of these aforementioned have taken place in the State since the establishment of BDIC in South Africa in 2013 to date, rather, what Bayelsans are passing through under the restoration government in the past four years is continuous underdevelopment of the State in all sectors of the economy. 
Bayelsans are not simply suffering from lack of development, but also that they have not achieved the expected levels of development, which would have occurred have they not been exploited by the Restoration Government.

Bayelsa State under the restoration government lacks industrialization, economic growth; lower standards of living associated with poverty, dictatorial tendencies, dehydration and deprivation, sickness and untimely deaths arising from maladministration, decrease life expectancy, poor health care, deliberate-closed down of our educational institutions including secondary and primary schools due to non-payment of teachers salaries etc. Besides, all construction works in the State have longed been abandoned due to the administration’s claimed paucity of funds.  

All the internal roads in Yenagoa metropolis are in a ramshackle and dilapidated state begging for repairs but there is little or no response from either local government authorities, government of the State or its agencies mandated to carry out such repair works.   

Presently, a drive through all internal roads in Yenagoa metropolis revealed that Bayelsa has a focus-less and clueless government that will give Bayelsa’s development its rightful place among the comity of federating States of Nigeria.

Because of the poor economic background of the BDIC members none of the promises made to turn Bayelsa State to a construction site, Dubai and Jerusalem of Izon Nation has been achieved despite the state’s huge federal allocation in the past four years.

As a result, a government that claimed to have come to restore the State and her people from shackles of poverty and underdevelopment eventually turned out to be resources devourers’ government.

Even the administration’s promise to ensure free flow of water to every household in Yenagoa metropolis turned out to be the biggest joke and a political subterfuge of our time. Let the government of Bayelsa State led by Hon Henry Seriake Dickson in absolute sincerity tell Bayelsans how much gains or profits that BDIC #10bn investment in South Africa  have made so far to salvage the almost collapsing economy of the State.

While, Investment is seen as the use of money for the purpose of making more income or to gain income or increase capital or both and safety of principal as an important consideration; management of BDIC to date has not been able to give pellucid account of its stewardship. 
Account analysis is the process of analyzing an account to determine business activity, size of the balance at given times, the cost of handling transactions of profit and loss on an account etc.

While accounting period is a time interval at the end of which an analysis is made of the information contained in the bookkeeping records is also the period of time covered by the profit and loss statement; It may be any length of time desired, but it is usually a month, three months, six months or a year; yet Governor Dickson and his co-investors in BDIC have not exhaustibly brief Bayelsans  either on a Town Hall meeting or on his monthly transparency briefings of the gains, incomes or profits realized in the past three years of BDIC’s existence. 

What Bayelsans want to know is how much BDIC #10bn investment in South Africa has made as gains, or obtained; proceeds or income from; such as a profit or loss accrued to the State from BDIC since establishment in 2013.    

Just like in every public investment made, there is accountability of those items for which a person, firm, or corporation must render an account, although he or it may not be personally liable for them, i.e. an official is responsible for the cash and other assets under his control and must account for them; moreover, even if a trustee has disbursed all funds confided to his care and has relieved himself of liability, he is still obligated to account for them and the items are therefore accountabilities. If this is the case, then there is need to give account of how much gain-income, profits and loss made so far from BDIC’ #10bn investment in South Africa?   

What Bayelsans want the State House of Assembly to do is to prevail on their principal and political godfather to render a pellucid account of that #10bn Bayelsa Development Investment Corporation in South Africa and United Kingdom respectively; established since 2013 in the interest of the people on this inglorious and plutocratic BDIC deal. 

Besides, the earlier Governor Dickson and his Corporate-Investors like Mr. Tam Alazigha, HRM King Diette-Spiff and others give a pellucid account of their stewardship in that kleptocratic #10bn BDIC investment in faraway South Africa; the better for the Restoration Administration that is speedily loosing credibility, popularity and an albatross to the people in all sectors due to lack of knowledge, managerial capacity, sound economic blue-print to develop the State and even encourage and empower Bayelsa Small and Medium Scale Enterprises with its proceeds or gains.

Let Bayelsans also know why the Bayelsa State Plastic industry can not be put into proper economic utilization by the restoration administration despite machinery and equipment needed to kick-start production of goods and service are lying prostrate and rotten away at the Elebele industrial complex.     
Is Bayelsa Development and Investment Corporation [BDIC] a paper tiger or a drain-pipe?  Why have development and investment in Bayelsa State become illusive and atrophied under the restoration government despite, Investment Corporation was established to take care of this area since three years ago?   

To Governor Henry Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, BDIC is seen as one that is outwardly effective and powerful in achieving economic objectives that would catapult the state to economic prosperity.   
But to the generality of Bayelsans, BDIC is seen as a paper tiger, conduit pipe, toothless bulldog, inwardly weak, ineffectual and an old wine in a new bottle considering the fact that nothing meaningful have been achieved right from its establishment in 2013 to date under the Restoration Administration.

Rather, the State experiences increased rate of communal crisis, kidnappings, sea piracy, criminal militancy, abductions, promotion of senseless squabbles amongst fathers, Sons, Sisters, Daughters, Mothers, creating schisms, disorganizing the people on the bases of political party lines, converting elders as gofers and disparaging retirees as economically unproductive and redundant forces.

While it is a known fact, Politics is all about authoritative allocation of societal values to whom he likes and disfavor that he doesn’t like, criminal and primitive accumulation of capital have become the milestone with which the administration operates.

Otherwise, how would one imagine a State that receives federal allocations of between #16bn and #18bn monthly for four years is unable to pay workers and retirees salaries and benefits for several months?

Under the restoration government, Bayelsa’s development becomes an illusion and a mere boastful concept. It is only in Bayelsa State, boastful people called TALK-NA-DO make a lot of noise without anything on ground development-wise to show for it.

Development-oriented governors’ like Senator Godswill Akpabio never in any way boasted of doing this and doing that while serving as governor of Akwa Ibom State, instead his developmental strides speaks volumes; even as he left the State to the National Assembly. 
TALK-NA-DOISM to the generality of Bayelsans simply means pride in one’s ego or one’s non-accomplishments at no where to be seen in almost five years administration in the State.

Despite the State’s low population and relatively sparse population, Bayelsa receives one of the largest allocations from the federation account every month because it is a leading oil-producing state, but still owes workers for several months. 
Why wouldn’t Bayelsa be in financial doldrums when Governor Dickson insists on holding up former President Goodluck Jonathan and Wife as role models in a State with personages like Larry Koinyan, Gabriel Okara and Mrs. T.K. Agari, among numerous others who can hold their ground anywhere in the world of high intellectualism and morality?

It should come to no one as a surprise that incidences of payroll fraud, contract padding, criminal and primitive accumulation of capital and ghost workers in Bayelsa have been proved to be the worst in the whole country since Dickson, compelled by the ongoing economic crunch began to check several leakages in the state’s treasury.

In a typical Nigerian fashion, Governor Ayodele Fayose’s State-owned University at Ado Ekiti recently awarded Governor Dickson an Honorary Doctorate Degree, when Governor Dickson’s State-owned Niger Delta University [NDU] is under lock and key due to lack of knowledge, intellect and managerial capacity in sourcing for funds to pay academic and non-academic staffs of the Institution to enable lecturers/non-academic staff return to work for the sake of our educationally deprived students by the restoration government.  

It is a shame that most of the leaders in Bayelsa State do not know the close relationship between values and economic development hence the Niger Delta University and other higher institutions of learning including secondary/primary schools are steeped in a profound moral cesspool.