The Bayelsa State Government says  that the ongoing reforms at  the local government tier has reduced the monthly wage bill of the eight council areas in the state by N300 million.
The Commissioner for Local Government Administration, Dr Agatha Goma, stated this last Friday at the ongoing inter-ministerial briefing to mark the sixth  anniversary of  the  Seriake Dickson administration.
She noted that the current administration had introduced fiscal discipline and set up procedures on prudent management of public funds at the local government level  in the state.
The commissioner said  that the reforms were tackling wastage  in the system and would be pursued to a logical conclusion
The source reports that Ministries, Departments and Agencies in Bayelsa had  been taking turns to showcase their score cards as part of the six  years  anniversary of the present administration.
Goma observed that lack of supervision of the local government system had resulted in the uncontrolled recruitment of personnel without an audit  leading to over bloated wage bill.
She said the dwindling allocation to the local government tier  during the economic recession caused a distress in the system,  resulting in  insufficient funds  to pay workers salary.
“We got into office and discovered that the wage bill of the local governments across the state was in excess of N1.4 billion at such a time that the total revenue accruing  to the councils was about N600 million.
“ We took steps to check the excesses, which is yielding results.