By Moses Adeniyi
The Lagos State Government (LASG) has reiterated its commitment to enhancing the welfare of its staff as well as promoting conducive environment to strengthen parameters of Ease of Doing Business in the State.
In a presentation on Wednesday at the ongoing Ministerial Briefing at the State Capital Ikeja, to commemorate the second year of the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu led Administration in office, the State’s Head of Service (HoS), Mr Hakeem Muri-Okunola, mentioned that the Administration in the last two years has committed premium attention to boosting the working conditions of workers and all public servants towards ensuring effective and efficient service delivery to the residents of the State.
He disclosed that as a clear demonstration of the commitment of the Administration to workers welfare, Governor Sanwo-Olu has approved 100 percent increase of loan entitlement to public servants in various cadres.
He mentioned that in fulfilment of the present Administration’s efforts to strengthen institutional capacity of Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) of the Government, Governor Sanwo-Olu had granted approval for the procurement and allocation of official vehicles to newly appointed Permanent Secretaries, Principal Officers in the public services as well as utility vehicles for use by Departments and Agencies of the Government.
The efforts according to him, is in line with the security and governance pillar of the T.H.E.M.E.S. Agenda, the policy thrust of the current Administration.
Muri-Okunola added that the present Administration has also presented 10 brand new buses to public servants in different arms of government to ease transportation challenges encountered by workers in commuting to and from their homes to offices.
He stressed further that, there is an ongoing monumental renovation and facelift in various Staff quarters situated in the state which has added to what he described as “the aesthetics of our Resilient Mega City Lagos.”
According to him, 821 apartments were being renovated and 526 maintained in Amuwo-Adofin, Badagry, Alausa, Ogba, Surulere, Ajah, Ikoyi, and Ikorodu axis in the State.
On Ease of Doing Business, he disclosed that within the period under review, the Lagos Public Procurement Agency (PPA) has integrated a total of 55 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the State on the e-Procurement platform to enhance the ease of doing business with the State Government.
The HoS explained that, while 45 of the 97 MDAs approved for integration by the Governor in 2021 have been onboarded in the first two quarters of the year, the remaining 52 MDAs would be integrated on the e-procurement platform in batches within the remaining two quarters of the year.
According to him, the e-procurement system is a technical innovation with enormous benefits for all stakeholders, as a system designed to reduce to the barest minimum all forms of physical interaction between the Procuring Entities or the Procurement Agency and contractors, suppliers and service providers.
“It offers contractors, service providers or suppliers the opportunity to do business with the State Government and its MDAs online, using the computer or the smart phone from the comfort of their homes or offices,” he said.
He reiterated that the e-procurement system will enhance accountability, transparency, competitiveness and value for money, thereby contributing to the realization of the objectives of the State Government’s policy on the ease of doing business with the State Government.
He stressed further that in a bid to enable contractors, suppliers and service providers make relevant payments to the coffers of the State Government with relative ease using online payment platforms, the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency has entered into effective collaboration with some MDAs and some private sector organisations.
The HoS maintained that to ensure the deepening of the public procurement system and effective management of the e-procurement system in the State, intensive training and capacity development programmes were organised for procurement personnel saddled with the responsibility of operating and managing the public procurement process and e-procurement system in the various MDAs of the State.
He also revealed that the Agency, in line with its statutory mandate, had carried out Post Procurement Review (PPR) of MDAs to check their procurement records with a view to finding out their level of compliance with the Public Procurement Law and due process in their procurement activities.
While talking about the monitoring of projects in the state, he stated that the monitoring and evaluation Officers of the Agency undertook routine inspection tours of project sites in the State to ensure adherence by contractors to terms of their contracts as contained in their Letters of Award, thereby ensuring that there is value for money expended by the State Government to provide goods and services for residents of the State.
The HoS further stated that the Agency has commenced the publication of contract awards above the Ꜻ500million threshold on the Agency’s website (www.lagosppa.gov.ng) in the Open Contracting Data Standards (OCDS) format, which is in part of the fulfilment of the requirements by the World Bank for granting performance-based grants to State Governments in the country.
He stressed that the provisioy is aimed at ensuring the disclosure of data and documents at all stages of the contracting process to ensure transparency.
Meanwhile, the State Government has called on Investors to take full advantage of new reforms on the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) space made available for their benefits.
According to the State Government, the efforts were directed to ensure bottlenecks attached to doing business in the State are removed for a more conducive environment for businesses to thrive.
According to the State’s HoS, Muri-Okunola, new reforms such as the reduction in the average number of days (72-61) required to obtain the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) and Governor’s consent, were affected due to continuous demand by the citizens, especially, Stakeholders in the Built-environment.
He added that the State Government has taken a step further to reduce the average number of days required to obtain Construction Permit from 42 to 28 days; noting that the fees, procedures and laws are now fully publicised on the web.
He maintained that the fact that the State Government was awarded the Presidential Impact Award, in year 2020 by the Presidential Enabling Business Council (PEBEC), was in recognition of it efforts, particularly in the area of Construction Permit and Registering Property which enhanced the Ease of Doing Business Initiative in the state.
“The State organised a Stakeholder’s Engagement Forum for all Stakeholders in the Built-environment occasionally, in order to raise awareness on the Ease of Doing Business, to showcase the reforms undertaken by the State such that key stakeholders in the Built-Environment would be up to speed with current thinking and workings of the State Government,” he noted.