BY SUNDAY EGEDE
DELTA State Government (DTSG) has called on Deltans to key into its whistle blowing policy by monitoring the progress of government projects in their communities and neighbourhoods and reports any irregularities to the state government.
The Executive Assistant to the governor on Public Enlightenment (Projects and Policies), Mr. Olisa Ifeajika made the call, yesterday, while speaking in an interactive session with journalists at Government House, Asaba.
Mr. Ifeajika said the call had become imperative as it would enable Deltans to get value for money that the state government was investing in the execution of people-orientated projects across the three senatorial districts of the state.
He pointed out that every Deltan residing in a community where a government project was being executed has a duty to monitor such project and report any irregularities through the whistle blowing telephone number provided by the state government.
According to him, every stakeholder—government officials, contractors, and residents—must play an active role in ensuring that projects were not only completed on time but are also executed to the highest standard, adding that no contractor should abandon a project under the excuse of lack of funds as the Governor Oborevwori’s administration was adequately funding its projects.
Mr Ifeajika , who gave the whistle blowing phone number as 09169978305, reiterated that the number which is under the office of the governor, was aimed at ensuring that Deltans beam search light on the quality of jobs being executed by contractors.
The Executive Assistant to the governor disclosed that another phone number was made public by the state public service as proactive step towards addressing anomalies in the public service.
He, therefore, advised anyone with useful information on indiscipline and breach of the extant rules of the service to call 08063572197 for prompt action, stressing that information from whistle blowers will be treated with the highest form of confidentiality.
“To reinforce this, the present administration introduced a novel mechanism—the whistleblowing initiative. This initiative empowers citizens to become part of the project inspection chain.
“Therefore, if you observe any site where work has stalled or where standards are being compromised, we urge you to alert the government immediately through the whistleblowing channels provided.
“The whistle blowing system is a crucial part of our monitoring process. It is designed to keep contractors accountable and ensure that projects are delivered in line with the Governor’s Renewed Development Vision,” he said, adding however, that all reports should be truthful and based on fact, not speculation or malice.
To those criticizing the recently launched Delta Security Trust Fund (DSTF) by Governor Sheriff Oborevwwori, he said security was capital intensive, adding that a buy in from stakeholders in private and public sectors will enhance effective security.
He affirmed that with the emerging security threat globally, security votes cannot procure latest and sophisticated weapons needed for effective crime control, adding that there was urgent need for more hands to be on deck to combat crime and criminality in the state.
