Majority of the solar powered boreholes and streetlight projects executed by the Federal Government usually pack up before providing maximum utility to the host community.
The reasons for the early pack-up of these projects include use of substandard products, lack of ownership of the projects by the host community, poor oversight of the projects by the relevant committees of the national assembly, etc. All hands must be on deck to reverse this trend.
Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies that award contracts for solar powered boreholes and streetlights must adhere strictly to the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, 2007. This should start from the procurement planning, competitive bidding process, up till avoidance of bid rigging to ensure value for money.
Provisions should be made for maintenance of these projects by the contractors for a guaranteed length of time. This is because some components require replacement after certain period of time and just installing and abandoning would reduce their full lifespan value.
As a follow up to the above, contractors should be paid fully upon expiration of the standard warranty period of their projects. The Bureau of Public Procurement in accordance with its mandate should provide a price database of solar energy components to all federal MDAs and update them from time to time based on changing macroeconomic indicators.
This will ensure that the prices of solar energy projects are standardized and inflation of contracts is reduced. Contracting agencies of government should work closely with reputable bodies in the sector such as the Sustainable Energy Practitioners Association Nigeria (SEPAN), the Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria (REAN) who have experienced professionals in this sector and can facilitate the vetting of bids on solar energy projects. The monitoring, inspection and approval units of Federal MDAs should be strengthened for proper monitoring of the standard and quality of work done by the contractors, functionality of the projects and ascertain if these projects were actually executed in accordance with specifications.
There are some solar energy projects that have been in the budget for some couple of years and are yet to be completed. Sometimes, certain components of the solar project will end up being vandalized or stolen while the project is still uncompleted. Therefore, there is need to rationalize projects and stop spreading resources too thin. Projects to be included in budgets should be only those that can be adequately funded within a reasonable period of time. Existing projects should be completed before embarking on new ones.
The Minister of Power has a major role to play. In accordance with section 88 of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act, 2005, the Minister of Power should ensure the judicious implementation of the Rural Electrification Strategy and Plan. He should also ensure that the quarterly reports are prepared, presented to the President and disseminated to the public.
The Legislature and Ministry of Budget and National Planning has a role to play. The National Assembly in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning should adopt a framework and template for the selection of solar energy projects to be included in the federal budget as constituency projects. This framework should take cognizance of the policy, plan and budget continuum which guarantees that the budget is used as a vehicle to implement policies and plans. The Ministry of Budget and National Planning should ensure that estimates that will be included in the federal budget are based on existing national plans and policies. This will ensure that solar energy projects are fitted into the national energy policies and action plans.
Martins Eke,
Centre for Social Justice,
Abuja
