I’m guided by my pre-politics work plan – Kaura Namoda LG boss

In this interview, the council chairman of Kaura Namoda local government of Zamfara state, Hon. Lawali M. Liman explains to UMAR MARADUN  how his work plan has tremendously guided his administration in the running of the council. The council boss who rates the APC-led government in the state  high, also speaks on the reason the council picked on both education and health sectors as its focus among others

On Zamfara APC
Take it or leave it, one fact that cannot be contradicted is that the APC in Zamfara state is as solid as the rock of Gibraltar. It  is focused and determined to serve the people of the state and this you can see , has greatly manifested in the programmes and achievements of the Yari-led government. When you have the right leadership, you can be sure that this will trickle down to the local governments, like we have in the state. From these modest achievements of the APC-led government in Zamfara, I don’t really know how any party, not even the unorganized PDP can shove us aside in 2015. For us, the party is there to serve Nigerians and this I can assure you, it won’t fail as a lot of measures are been put in place to actualize this agenda to engender good governance at both the state and national levels.

Students sponsorship to foreign varsity
You see, I worked with development partners, therefore, I developed work plan before joining politics and this has helped a great deal.  The work plan dwelt extensively on the areas of education and health care. So immediately I was elected as council chairman, I embarked on an on-the-spot assessment of the health sector. In fact, the situation I met on ground was very unfortunate and sad.  The dearth of medical professionals and other necessary facilities in the state health centres is so disappointing. So, after series of consultations, we resolved to source for students with
required credits to sponsor them to University of Kampala in Uganda to study medicine, knowing full well that education is the bedrock of  societal development.

In recognition of the fact that Nigerian medical students do not normally come back to serve their country, the students their parents and guardians were made to sign a bond with the council. So, by that bond the students are legally bound to come back to serve the local government and the state at large for a period of three years before allowing them to either stay or move to any other place(s). We will have every constitutional right to challenge them, if they fail to respect the agreement.

And in anticipation of their services, the council has already swung into renovations and rehabilitation of health structures across the local government as well as securing the required health facilities. This is in addition to the total renovation and upgrading of Women and Children Welfare Clinic (WCWC) where the distribution of free medication is fully observed.

Preparing against annual flooding
You see, apart from adequate public enlightenment on environmental cleanliness, the council has introduced a weekly environmental sanitation. We  use the local government environmental staffers and other necessary required equipment and also vowed to fight malaria and other man-killer diseases. This is the situation in my local government now. And the most important point to note here is that, people are beginning to respond positively to that programme to the extent that our environmental vehicles are 24-hour busy conveying waste to the appointed dump refuse for final action.

Right now, we are virtually ready for the coming of raining season as majority of functional culverts and drainages across the local government have been cleared.  This, if you ask me, is highly impressive simply because it would help reduce the amount of threat caused by the disaster of flood that occurs annually.

Developmental projects
When we came on board, we found that some communities were abandoned in almost every aspect in the local government services. In the light of giving the people of the local government and indeed the entire communities a sense of  belonging, we embarked upon electrification project and connecting Magizawa  village  to national grid , which they never dreamt of  before 2012. The said village is now electrified, So also Barkeji village is completely re-electrified as some of the power facilities were either vandalised or abandoned to have become ravaged.

The project is 100 percent completed, and what we have noticed following the completion of such an electrification projects in both Barkeji and Magizawa villages were very great, especially in addressing the rural/urban drift.
We procured more transformers and installed at Hayin Mahe and Yarima quarters as well as Kugurki area in the local government headquarters.

Boosting commercial activities
The people of Kaura Namoda are known for business activities, so as a complementary effort to enhance business activities, the council decided to construct three ultra modern markets in three different locations.

It appears to be a great achievement, as it creates an opportunity for healthy business transactions amongst the traders. The renovation of the markets have also attracted teeming youths to be engaged in various trades. Therefore, the construction of the markets would have significant impact on the society, in different dimension, one of which is addressing idleness amongst our youths who now take advantage of market to engage in viable trades. This is coupled with the fact that, we have distributed some substantial amount of money to some youths who were trained in some trades to start small scale businesses in what they have learnt. This was sequel to security advice we received from certain quarters.