Civil servants tasked on infrastructure mgt

From Uche Uche, Damaturu

Yobe state Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in collaboration with Zanzibaru Logistics Concept limited yesterday organized a two-day workshop on infrastructure maintenance with emphasis on attitudinal change on the part of the ministries, departments and agencies to ensure efficiency in service delivery to the people.
They were also urged to ensure proper management of available resources and value for money spent in the provision of such resources.
The workshop which took place at the state cultural center in Damaturu, the state capital drew resource persons equipped with the necessary theoretical and practical knowledge of the subject, aimed at exposing local government operators to the need for entrenching a maintenance culture in ensuring the safety, workability and functionality of local government buildings, plants, vehicles and related assets.
In a welcome address by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry for local government and chieftaincy affairs, Alhaji Yahaya Ado, on behalf of the Commissioner for the ministry, pointed out that the workshop became necessary in view of growing number of projects executed by the local government councils in key sectors such as water, education, health and others.
Thus, he said, there is the need for knowledge and skill on the operators so as to drive the local government system in the state and called on the participants to listen, understand and internalize the theoretical and practical requirements for ensuring effective maintenance of assets at their disposal.
In a lead paper titled, ”infrastructural maintenance, principles and practice, the chairman and representative of Zanzibaru logistics concept limited, Professor Musa Alabe, who is the former Vice Chancellor, Yobe state university, said furniture, vehicles and others are lying waste because of lack of maintenance.
According to him, some of these infrastructure require little amount of money for maintenance but are piled away to rust until they become useless and said this amounts to waste of government resources and thus the need for the a change of attitude towards a maintenance culture to ensure value for government money spent to provide such facilities.