By  Mr Ufuoma Ubiebor

With turbulent times which has highlighted new frailties in the FCT, there is urgent need for the FCT minister to clean up the pipes so as to reposition the FCT to be on same page with its core master plan.

Currently, the FCT is faced with numerous challenges like never before as a result of present economic downturn, to mention but a few, the high level of migration of people without jobs and skills from different states into the  FCT, insecurity, poor housing, hunger, poverty,   poor transportation system, the need to address these critical issues in a timely manner is crucial for the economic viability and stability of the FCT. 

          

Today’s changing FCT calls for a transformative and bold leadership that would transform positively the lives of the residents.

Presently, the FCT is the fastest growing city in the country because of its unique master plan and it is designed and built to compete with other bigger cities globally; but that trajectory hasn’t been kept as a result of lack of detailed attention given to it overtime. Today more people beg on the streets of the FCT, dirt everywhere, markets are unpresentable, substandard vehicles used as taxis in the city, commercial taxi drivers carry six passengers in a vehicle that has a capacity for only four,  motor parks in the city are not presentable, commuters are stranded every other day during close of  work as a result of insufficient transportation vehicles in the city,  buildings collapse and so on, all these are as a result of system failure.

Currently,  the FCT minister is focused on infrastructural development amid these numerous challenges, the One Million Dollar Question is, how would these infrastructural development translate to economic viability? How? When the primary issue concerning citizens welfare has not been properly looked into, he must understand that humans are the most invaluable resource in every economy, so therefore their welfare must be taken as a priority because it is an integral part of economic development.

It is obvious there is a disconnect in the FCT’s minister work plans, because the people who are meant to use these infrastructure, are suffering too many things at same time hence they won’t function at optimal level which would translate to a downward economic activities in the FCT. Therefore there must be a connection creating a balance in human welfare and development and infrastructural development simultaneously so as to address these issues and achieve a true economic stability.   

     

Though the FCT minister has a humongous task in maintaining and developing the FCT master plan, he must also pay detail attention and look holistically using a short and a long lens so as to identify and proffer lasting solutions to the numerous challenges the FCT is faced with.

  

 However, there are four key components that could assist the FCT’s minister in addressing these concerns:

Point 1- Inspection: The minister needs to go on a thorough inspection tour  with his team round the FCT to ascertain the true state of the Territory.

Point 2- Reorganization: He needs to reorganize the FCT putting it on the right trajectory with its master plan by working with the various stakeholders in the FCT.

Point 3- Standards: He needs to implement and put standards in areas where there are no standards. 

Point 4- Sanctions: He must implement sanctions, ensuring violators of the laws are sanctioned without any form of compromise.

In addressing the issues of migration from states, the minister must work collaboratively with the nearby states Governors to see how they can improve on their states economy so as to reduce the migration. To address the issue of poverty and hunger,  he needs to work closely with Area council chairmen, the FCT Senator and Ministry of humanitarian affairs on a daily basis to come out with better strategies they can use to deal with the issues of poverty and hunger, because once these is reduced, insecurity would also reduce.

To address the poor transportation system in the FCT,  the minister needs to adopt a public private partnership model [PPP] by looking for committed investors who are willing to invest in the transportation sector in the FCT and work closely with them so as to improve on the transportation system in the FCT.  To address building collapse, he must work closely with development control and other relevant agencies ensuring standards are strictly adhered to in conformance with the regulatory agencies from conception stage to implementation and occupancy.

Mr Ufuoma Ubiebor is a Management Consultant