THE  salient contents in the inaugural speech of Governor Henry Seriake Dickson as the fourth civilian Governor of Bayelsa State, no doubt, have kept the hope of building a new Bayelsa alive, with the sole objective of achieving rapid transformation.

The Governor,who took the oath of office on February 14 this year made it clear that there would be a paradigm shift in the culture of governance with the promise to make the people benefit from the developmental agenda of the new government.

He also told the mammoth gathering at the swearing-in ceremony that the new administration was poised to entrenching a regime of transparency where no one conducts government business in the dark. Governor Dickson had given the assurance that his administration willrestore the confidence of the people in government and hence use the state’s resources to fund such critical projects as the construction of good roads, education, health facilities, promote tourism, generate wealth and develop agriculture than funding corruption and greed.

It may be too early to assess the government but considering all the actions taken so far since inauguration, it is reassuring that the Governor is a focused and compassionate leader, one who has a clear vision and determination to change the face of development in Bayelsa State.Interestingly,the support-base of the ‘Contriman’ Governor has continued to swell by the day because he is matching words with action towards realising a truly united, virile and prosperous state.

The declaration of a state of emergency in the education sector and announcement of free and compulsory education at the primary and secondary school levels is one policy that has raised the consciousness of the people that a new order of hope and possibilities is emerging in the state.

The government is very interested in building the capacity of the people which is expected to rub off on the development agenda in diverse ways because government appreciates education as a critical tool for development.

Another major decision of the Governor was the bold step to announce that he would on a monthly basis make public the allocation from the Federation Account and a breakdown of income and expenditures. Pronto, two separate strategic bank accounts were created with one for monthly savings and another for projects. This rare step has made it very clear and more convincing to the generality of Bayelsans that truly, the culture of governance has changed with the display of transparency and accountability by Governor Dickson.

And when the Governor hosted the first transparency briefing, key stakeholders, including top government functionaries, politicians, permanent secretaries, directors in the civil service, senior citizens of the state and the media, the message was clear that indeed it is a new beginning.

Amidst the good news, however, is the government’s worry about the huge wage bill of the state civil service described as unsustainable and unrealistic.

uriously, Bayelsa State with a  population of barely over one million people remains the second highest salary paying civil service after Lagos State. And one begins to wonder how this came about, necessitating a closer look at the authenticity of such wage bill to ensure the incidence of ghost workers is effectively checked.

Consequently, new measures had been put in place to reduce the over-bloated salary structure with the permanent secretaries and heads of other agencies directly involved in staff verification and preparation of the monthly salary vouchers.

Efforts are also being intensified to rebuild, re-organise and re-train the civil service for top performance and efficiency, so that it will become a trusted and reliable instrument for service delivery.

The Governor whose agenda covers all the key areas of development, including the three senatorial roads, new general hospitals in each of the eight local government headquarters, model schools and key infrastructure is emphasising the need to cut costs and eliminate wastages in the system so as to save enough money for projects.

In this direction, salaries and allowances of all appointees beginning with the Governor himself had been cut by 15 per cent to show example.

It is also important to highlight that the Governor had set up several committees to draw up blue prints for the development of some key sectors as well as new policies to fast track development in the state, with most of the reports already turned in.

With all of these background work done, the Governor no doubt requires a competent State Executive Council in place to drive the Restoration agenda.

The people of the state had waited eagerly for the names of those to serve as commissioners in the cabinet until the 26 names forwarded to the State House of Assembly were screened and confirmed.

Then came the swearing-in of the new commissioners, whom the Governor prided were carefully selected for the daunting task ahead of his administration.

Mr. DANIEL IWORISO-MARKSONon is SSA, Media & Publicity,  to Governor Dickson of Bayelsa State.