Rivers
Dame Amaechi Begins Health Awareness Campaign
Following the negligence and ignorance of women in Rivers Sate to access government social amenities and infrastructure sited within their communities, wife of the Rivers State Governor, Dame Judith Amaechi will soon flag off a enlightenment and sensitisation campaign to educate and encourage women to access these facilities.
Mrs. Amaechi stated this during her new-year message to women in Rivers State and signed by her Media Assistant Dike Bekwele.
She said the campaign was necessary to enable women access the basic infrastructure including tuition free education, free maternal and infant health provided by the government.
Mrs. Amaechi disclosed that her finding during the Christmas felicitation tour to the twenty three local government of Rivers State showed that more women are yet to locate these facilities in their area and to access them accordingly. “It is very sad that a good number of our women still run to general hospital in Port Harcourt city to seek medicare when we have health centres next to their door steps. Some of the health challenge that took them to General Hospitals can be handled at the health centres. It shows that women are ignorant of the existence of these
health centres this is unacceptable”.
The governor’s wife said women will be mobilised .in the state government 200-200-200 primary school projects to enable them have first hand information on what the scheme is all about and their responsibility to ensure that their children have access to the state government primary schools in their communities.
“Health and Education are so dear to mothers so we will participate in the commissioning of the two hundred primary schools in two hundred communities in the state.”
Mrs. Amaechi who founded the Empowerment Support Initiative (ESI), a non-governmental organisation involved in the empowerment of women, youth and children said the NGO’s
advocacy unit will provide modality to kick off the campaign to create awareness on the impact and significant of government policies on women.
In another development, Dame Judith Amechi has presented cash and material gifts to the mother of the first baby in 2012, delivered in the state at the Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital.
The baby boy, Victor Awadio Oga weighed 3.5 and delivered at 2.11am.
The Nigerian Shippers Council has initiated moves towards Enhancing Service Delivery across the various Sea Ports in the Country.
This follows the validation of the Draft Set Minimum Service Delivery Standards for Shipping Companies/Agents at the various Sea Ports in the Country.
Speaking during a stakeholders meeting organized by The Nigerian Shippers Council in conjunction with Ocean Serve, in Port Harcourt, Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer Nigerian Shippers Council, Barrister Pius Akuta Ukeyima said the initiative was aimed at making the Nation’s Ports some of the best in the world in terms of service delivery
He said it was the key Mandate of the Council as the Port Economic Regulator to Set and Monitor Standards of Service Delivery by Regulated Service Providers in the Ports, adding it was inline with this responsibility that the Council established minimum service standards for terminal operators and as well put in place appropriate mechanisms for monitoring performance against those standards.
Ukeyima who was represented by the Director, Regularly Services, Mrs Margaret Ogbonnah said the draft documents cover submission and verification of documents, cargo clearance operations, confirmation of declared contents and the use of electronic systems for data exchange.
According to him,”These are designed to position Nigerian Ports on the same pedestal as Ports that meet international best practices”he said.
Ukeyima said the Council will continue to work in synergy and collaboration with all regulated service providers to ensure the enthronement of global best practices in our Port industry.
“Our collective goal is to build a Port system anchored on transperancy, trust customer satisfaction and sustainable returns on investment for all stakeholders”.
Speaking in an interview, Mrs Margeret Ogbonnah who is the Director Regulatory Services, Nigerian Shippers’ Council said, The Nigerian Shippers Council, as the port economic regulator has a mandate to monitor and enforce minimum standard service delivery in the port sector.
According to her,”And for us to have that, there should be minimum standard, customers are expected to receive from the port.
“One of the things that has been affecting our industry is service failures, so when we have what we call the minimum expected service delivery, you the service taker in the industry will know the level of service you are expected to receive.
“As time goes on, the economic regulator will come up with a framework for consequence management framework.
“In other words, what are the consequences for service failure? In other sectors, like the aviation sector, for instance, there are levels of services.
“Not using Nigeria as a case study, but overseas,If an airline is supposed to lift you, and it fails to lift you, It has a responsibility as part of minimum service expected, to accommodate you in a hotel, pending when they are ready to pick you to your destination
“, At the port level, that’s what we are discussing today” she said.
Also speaking representative of Ocean Serve, Forwarder Eugene Nweke said the process which started years ago was to make Nigerian Ports to catch up with the rest of the world in terms of quality service delivery
He said the situation will reduce clogging at the Ports and check incessant ship diversion to other African Countries because of inefficient service at Nigerian Ports.
John Bibor
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