PDP Lied Over $280m Loan -RSG …As RVHA Revalidates Loan For Water, Sanitation Projects

The Rivers State House of Assembly on Monday revalidated a loan of $280million requested by the Rivers State Government for water supply and sanitation project in Port Harcourt, the state capital, even as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), lashed out at the government, accusing it of obtaining a fresh loan meant to impoverish Rivers people.
The House subsequently resolved to summon the state Commissioner for Water Resources and Rural Development, Mrs Patricia Adagogo Simon-Hart to appear before the Hallowed Chamber and brief the people of the state and the lawmakers on the breakdown of the projects in the next adjourned date.
The Rivers State Government had on June 23, 2014, written to the Speaker of the House, Rt.Hon. Otelemaba Dan-Amachree, requesting resolution of the House to approve the revalidation of the loan of $200million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and $80million from the World Bank.
In their contributions, the lawmakers said the approval of the loan facility after several months of delay was a welcome development considering the wide criticisms the present administration had received for lack of potable drinking water in the state.
They, however, insisted that the state Commissioner for Water Resources and Rural Development, Mrs Simon-Hart should be invited to the floor of the House to give a breakdown and scope of the financial implication of the loan.
Hon. Golden Chioma, the lawmaker representing Etche Constituency II, while speaking on the issue, said the sum of $280 million was “a colossal amount to attract as low as three per cent interest”, stated that the executive should conclude the process of obtaining the loan.
Hon Chioma noted that the House needs adequate understanding of the charge on the various departments of the loan.
Others, who  spoke on the issue including, Hon Victoria Nyeche, Port Harcourt 1; Hon. Legborsi Nwidaadah, Khana 1; and Hon Ibiso N. Nwuche, Ahoada East 11; expressed satisfaction that the loan has low interest rate and was repayable in 22 years after an eight-year grace commencing from the date of the agreement.
While ruling on the matter, Rt. Hon. Otelemaba Dan-Amachree approved that the state government should go ahead with the loan, and commended the lawmakers for their contributions.
The Speaker directed the Clerk to inform the Commissioner for Water Resources and Rural development, Mrs Patricia Adagogo Simon-Hart to appear before the House on its next sitting.
In a swift reaction to the PDP accusation, the Rivers State Commissioner of Information and Communications, Ibim Semenitari,in a statement Monday, denied that the Chibuike Amaechi-led government presented to the state House of Assembly request for a fresh loan, insisting that what the government had done was merely asking the House to revalidate an earlier approval given for the $280million AfDB loan following the Federal Government’s nod for it to take effect.
In the statement, Semenitari said, the Felix Obuah faction of the Rivers State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) had “issued a misleading and mischievous statement accusing the Rivers State Government of taking a new loan of $280million”.
According to her, the PDP statement, which was a tissue of lies, claimed that the Rivers State Government tabled a fresh request for loan before the Rivers State House of Assembly.
She quoted the PDP as claiming that the loans were to enable the governor source money for 2015 elections and to sponsor the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Semenitari, however, stated that “the Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi administration takes its insistence on transparent and accountable governance. It would therefore continue to put out the facts of the matter as it concerns the finances and economy of Rivers State for its employers (the Rivers people) to see”.
Explaining in detail, the steps taken by the Rivers State Government on the loan, Semenitari noted that “The Rivers State Government applied for and secured a loan package from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the World Bank in 2012 for the World Bank-assisted water scheme in Rivers State.
“The rule is that the Federal Government would need to endorse the release of the loan after the Rivers State House of Assembly would have approved.
“Everything else was done but for reasons unknown to the Rivers State Government, the responsible officers in the Federal Ministry of Finance failed to sign off the release of funds, thereby delaying the Rivers State Government’s robust water sector complete overhaul and rejuvenation; therefore denying the people of the state access to good water.
“Not willing to give up, the Rivers State Government continued to push and the scheme with the loan was again approved in the 2014 budget. Now, the Federal Government has finally signed off for this fund to be drawn down for work to start, but due process required that the Rivers State House of Assembly endorse it once more. This is what necessitated the re-presentation of the old loan to the House for reconfirmation.
“But true to type, Obuah’s PDP, uncaring of the truth and in what has become its masterful display of ignorance and blind mischief, has announced that the Rivers State Government is taking a fresh loan and that this is for the 2015 elections.
“Unfortunately, unlike the PDP, the Rivers State Government is focused on ensuring governance and service-delivery to its people until its last day. Again, much unlike most of the PDP-controlled states, Rivers State has remained one of the least indebted states in the country. Its financials have been reported as strong not only by international rating agencies, but also by the Federal Government agency responsible for monitoring states’ indebtedness, the Debt Management Office (DMO). Whenever the DMO releases debt figures, Rivers State remains unmentioned (in blue) where the PDP states who earn the same, and in some cases, more than Rivers State are in Crimson red, owing debts that will hang on the head of successive governments up to the 4th and 5th generations.
“Despite this obvious disparity and the excellent rating of the finances and economy of Rivers State, the PDP keeps going to the media with stories of enslaving the future of the state as if the party knew anything about future of a nation. The tales by moonlight often told by the PDP are as embarrassing as they are contrived. It is unfortunate that Obuah’s PDP continues to revel in these lies of an unhealthy economy and mortgaging of the future.

Members of Rivers State House of Assembly voting to approve a loan of $280million for the state governor to execute water and sanitation projects, during the sitting of the House in Port Harcourt, last Monday. Photo: Chris Monyanga