Leon Usigbe
13 January 2009
THE Rural Electrification Agency (REA) is saddled with a debt burden of N2.85billion owed as outstanding liabilities to various contractors who are now threatening to drag the electricity agency to court in order to receive their payments.
It is also in search of about N37billion to complete its ongoing projects most of which were inherited from the Federal Ministry of Energy (Power).
The Managing Director (MD) of REA, Engr. Sam Gekpe is now raising the red flag calling for Federal Government's urgent intervention to save the agency from embarrassment as well as to enhance its service delivery potential.
The MD's lamentation came against the backdrop of the familiarization visit to the agency's headquarters in Abuja by the new Minister of State for Power, Arch. Somo Nuhu Wya to agency where he took briefings on the ongoing projects and other activities of the REA.
The MD revealed that the agency's problems were complicated by the failure of government to provide money for its services in the 2008 Supplementary budget sent to the National Assembly just before the end of the last fiscal year.
According to him, while other projects not provided for in the 2008 budget were still awaiting necessary action, difficulties were encountered from specific budgetary allocations to other projects because of non_utilization of sizeable appropriation which he noted also required urgent attention of government.
Engr. Gekpe recalled that 45 solar_based projects were introduced in the last year's amended budget at a total cost of N3.57billionover which 15% mobilization fees amounting to about n778million has been paid to contractors handling these projects.
However, he said that some of these projects could not be to use even when they were completed due to lack of source of power supply, saying "some constituency projects introduced in year 2008 budget which had commenced faced the prospect of abandonment due to funding uncertainties arising from mop-up of unutilized allocation."
The Minister observed in his response that REA was a vital implement in the government's desire to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people and therefore restated government's commitment to enhance the capacity of the agency.
Arch. Wya assured REA of constant support for the generation and supply of power to meet the hope and demands of the rural dwellers as he charged the agency to redouble its effort towards the realization of its objectives.
"I assure you that we will continue to support and promote REA. I throw the challenge to you where we are not able to generate enough to our country, should we suspend further generation, but we must continue the aspirations and hope must not be dashed.
"You have to double your efforts at alternative power as much has not been done as expected in the solar panel. Research agencies must find out means of generating 30 mw for rural communities," the Minister stated.REA started its operation in 2007 and took over 2,117 on_going projects from the Federal Ministry of Energy (Power) out of which it has been able to complete a total of 693.
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