…suspends perm secs

 

Imo State government has finally concessioned more than 29 Parastatals and 38 Health facilities including all the general hospitals in the state to inject life into them and make them effective and productive to achieve the aims of establishing them.

 

The state government also suspended some permanent secretaries, Directors of Accounts and few other officials who were indicted by the report of the recent verification and audit exercise carried out in the state.

 

Most of these parastatals and Health facilities according to government have continued to enjoy the government’s “huge monthly subventions without any thing to show for such cash investments.”

 

Some of the parastatals listed for concessioning are those of Imo Newspapers, Imo Orientation Agency, NEPAD, Imo ADP, Agric Loans Board, Water Corporation, PFMU and PSGRDP, Consumer Protection Council, Imo State Council for Arts and Culture, Imo State Sports Council, Imo State Tourism Board, Imo State Zoological Garden, Imo State Library Board, Imo Job Centre and Imo State Investment Promotion Agency.

 

Others are the State Directorate for Employment, Okigwe Cattle Market, Imo Livestock, Ministry of Agric and Natural Resources Shop, Niger-Delta Bureau, Poverty Alleviation Bureau, IWADA, Bureau for Public Procurement and Price Intelligence, ENTRACO, Imo Marketing Company, Imo Blue Lake Oguta and Imo Essential Drug.

 

 

Health facilities the government has also listed to concession their managements are the General Hospitals and Health Centres in the 27 Local Government Areas in the state including the General Hospitals at Aboh Mbaise, Ngor Okpala, Ihitte Uboma, Okigwe, Aro-ndizogu, Mberi, Awo Omama, Oguta, Ogwa, Ohaji Egbema and the Specialist Hospital, Umugwuma.

 

In the case of the Health Centres and General Hospitals, the government said it concessioned their respective managements to give them the needed teeth to make the Health-care delivery system in the state responsive, effective and service-oriented especially when the government’s experience in the affected Health outfits have been nauseating.

 

In addition to the concession, the government has also dissolved the Youth Must Work Scheme with the aim of re-organising it and making it more efficient to achieve the goal for which it was set up

 

However, the government said that Primary and Secondary teachers recruited under the Youth Must Work Scheme would not be affected by the dissolution.

 

Also dissolved, the statement said is the elected officials of the Community Government councils (CGC), adding that the action was also designed to help in repositioning the CGC to make it very vibrant and result-oriented.

 

In the same vein, the state government disclosed that it has taken over Imo State Teaching Hospital staff Primary School at Orlu and FSP Primary School Ugwu-orji, Owerri to enable them enjoy the free education programme of the state government and also take the two schools to the expected level in terms of quality.

 

Meanwhile, the Governor, Rochas Okorocha has directed the immediate payment of salary arrears of all the staff in the affected parastatals listed for concession, the hospitals and health centres also affected, and those of CGC.

 

While appealing to indigenes of the state for their cooperation and understanding, the governor explained that the actions were taken in the overall interest of the state and her people, adding that it was designed to keep the state on the fast lane of development

 

By: CHRIS NJOKU

National Mirror