STATE ADMINISTRATION (3): ESTABLISHING A POLICY CONTEXT FOR FUTURE GOVERNANCE My dear Akwa Ibomites, Today, we continue with the third part of our perspectives on State Administration in a post – 2015 Akwa Ibom. In our first and second perspectives, we had dwelt at length on the strategic issues of continuity in change, the new economic and industrialization objectives and the measures to achieve revenue security of the sort that enables our government to sustainably drive development across the socio-economic landscape of our dear state. Today, we must review the policy context that will enable governance, without which it might well be business as usual. Today, our state is the product of three historical experiences that have now come to a head in our developmental context. In the first, the social, there is growing discontent amongst our restive youths for the dividends of democracy. Jobs and opportunities have become the mantra of this silent revolution against the socio-economic order and this is translating into a yearning for change in both the policy environment and in the personnel responsible for administering policy. New ideas are being invited and a marked refusal to countenance the transition of the present into the future has been flagged. In the second experience, the economic, our state has transited from a backward, under-resourced entity to being, simply, the richest state in the federation. But the sources of state wealth today could possibly become the strictures against our future growth and development if urgent measures are not developed and implemented to safeguard our wealth and secure our future. Our reliance on income from fast-diminishing hydro-carbon resources has greatly narrowed the scope for future investments in economy-enhancing infrastructure and in the agric-industrial complex that will boost our income, generate sustainable employment and re-invigorate the transactional economy. The need for a major economic policy shift has been flagged. In the third experience, the political, Akwa Ibom continues to swing between exclusion and inclusion in the political order. Sectionalism, ethnicity and particularism continue to be promoted as the foundations of political engagement. Policy directions based on these factors have continued to negate development on a state-wide basis. Given the demographic structure of the state, with nearly 2.7 million citizens falling below 35 years of age, particularism, ethnicity and sectionalism have become ingredients for the destruction of tomorrow’s leadership class, potentiating grave danger for our future as one people. These are not the elements that promote unity or foster growth on an inclusive basis. The need for a fundamental policy and implementation shift has been flagged. These three historical experiences have emerged as the most potent forces which will determine the policy structure of the post-2015 administration. Within the social context, it is my firm belief that government must create employment. Not provide jobs! Through sustainable investments in opportunity-creating industrialization, agricultural development and commercialization, jobs that empower the youth and opportunities that help small businesses to grow in our communities will emerge. The potentially negative results of the present social revolution can be anticipated and will be best managed when opportunities for profitable engagement are presented to our people. The second historical experience demands an urgent policy shift in favour of revenue security. We need, as a first priority, to expand the base for Inland Revenue gathering and strengthen the capacity for effective Inland Revenue administration. A concurrent priority consists in the urgent expansion of our revenue sources away from reliance on federation sources. Our state must develop a pathway to full revenue sustainability. The new economic policy must emphasise industries, export-driven agriculture, growth in domestic transactions which enable higher tax offtake and the erection of infrastructure which promote these dimensions. The third experience calls for a clear understanding of the maxim that “Akwa Ibom belongs to us all”. The benefits anticipated from policy shifts in the two experiences discussed above must be shared more equally or less unequally amongst our people without concern for tribe or language and with maximum regard for unity, cohesion and even spread of development. These new policy directions will constitute the main focus of my agenda for the post-2015 era. Join the debate on the policy context of a post 2015 administration for Akwa Ibom and lets discuss your views here. Thanks and regards, OKON IYANAM 7th July 2013
Posted on: Sun, 07 Jul 2013 15:21:21 +0000
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