Onwuka Nzeshi
9 January 2009
Abuja — The House of Representatives Committee on Land Transport yesterday raised questions on the plans by the Federal government to spend N2.7billion on the rehabilitation of railway tracks across the country.
The Committee said it does not make economic sense to sink such a fund into a project that would not yield the desired results, adding that it would have been better to construct more modern rail tracks instead of rehabilitating the existing ones that have become worn out over the years.
Chairman of the Committee, Honourable Bernard Udoh, also said that the planned purchase of new locomotives for the country's rail system even before the tracks were rehabilitated was like puting the cart before the horse.
Under the 2009 Appropriation Bill, the Nigeria Railway Corporation is seeking funds for the comprehensive modernisation of 20 locomotive and spares. Other projects in the NRC's budget are N6, 452, 447, 194 fund for the payment of outstanding debt for the completion of Ajaokuta - Warri line to Delta Steel Jetty, Aladja which is about 22km and another N6, 000, 000, 000 for same project being amount for 2009 and construction of station signal and communication for Itakpe/Ajaokuta to Warri line.
Managing Director, Nigeria Railway Corporation, Mazi J.C Nwankwo who appeared alongside the newly appointed minister of Transport, Alhaji Isa Ibrahim before the committee yesterday, told lawmakers that the sum of N2.7 billion was included in the 2009 budget for the projects.
Nwankwo said the allocations to the various rehabilitation projects of the corporation would solve the problems of damaged rail tracks which was contributing to the slow speed of the locomotives. He however admitted that the proposed rehabilitation would not be able to accommodate high speed locomotives but should be executed in order to ease the huge traffic on the roads. The Warri/Ajaokuta rail project, he said, still had about 27km to hit its final destination and pleaded with the legislators to approve the funds that would enable the contractors complete the rail to open up the rural communities and villages along the rail route.
Minister of Transport, Isa Ibrahim while defending the budget for 2009 before the House committee said that the ministry generated internal revenue worth over N31million in 2008.
Also yesterday, the House of Representatives Committee on Information again, rejected the expenditure profile documents presented by the Ministry of Information and Communication with regards to the 2008 budget.
Chairman of the Committee, Honourable Dino Melaye, and other members of the Committee, expressed dismay at the quality of the documents and the presentation made on the expenditure profile and lashed at the ministry's officials for a poor job.
Melaye said that so long as the 2009 Budget is predicated on the 2008 budget, the Committee cannot proceed with the 2009 budget until they have full details of expenditure for 2008. He observed that the ministry of Information was under-funded by the Federal Government but lamented that the desire of the legislature to effect a change was being frustrated even by the indecision and shoddy job done by some of its officials.
He also expressed dismay at the failure of the ministry to include in its proposal the need to complete its unfinished or abandoned projects but rather proposed over N50 million for travels and "generator servicing".
The Committee said that while it would not entertain appropriation for travels, maintenance of generators and miscellaneous for the agencies under the Ministry of Information, it would allocate funds for the completion of some key capital projects such as the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Complex to ensure that it was completed during the year.
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The country needs a modern railway system which could be built peacemeal to uplift the transportation system. The N2.7b is a bandage approach tantamount to a colossal waste of money and time.