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Tie Contracts to Job Creation By Salisu Suleiman
The federal government recently accepted World Bank estimates that nearly 30 percent of Nigeria’s workforce is unemployed. Other observers believe the figures are higher, especially in the north. Whatever the actual figures may be, the general consensus is that unemployment is one of the major challenges facing the growth and stability of the country today.
Job creation is a feature in President Yar’adua’s Seven Point Agenda. But after two years in office, the questions must be asked: How many jobs has this administration created? What strategies have been put in place to help mitigate the effects of unemployment in Nigeria? Do the unemployed have hope? Does the government even have a current data base of unemployed Nigerians?
As the global economic recession bites harder, the loss of jobs across the world and in all sectors of the economy has continued to generate concern. So bad is the situation that when it was announced that America lost ONLY about half a million jobs in April compared to over 600,000 in March, it was seen as good news! This was because the economy shed fewer jobs month-on-month. For the unemployment in the world’s largest economy to be nearing double digits, there is indeed cause for alarm in an economy like ours.
The government must view unemployment in Nigeria from a national security perspective. Nigerians are generally hardworking and creative. If you follow a street hawker darting in and out of heavy traffic for a whole day in the hot sun, (often burdened with goods they are hawking), you will understand. It has been mentioned jokingly that Nigeria has introduced a new service industry to the world – where you can do all your shopping right from your car. From fresh meat, fish, eggs, vegetables – everything you need to make a pot of soup, and more besides!
But jokes apart, when people who are able and willing to work so hard just to get by find themselves unable to earn a living, then ‘akwai rikici a Lagos!’ (Wahala dey). While nothing justifies the spate of armed robbery and kidnap we have seen of late, there can be no doubt that they are linked to unemployment. When university graduates, retired (and even serving) members of the security forces are forced into a life of crime, the level of sophistication and complexity is often beyond the capacity of the police and civil defense corps. So what is to be done?
If the government is serious about tackling unemployment in Nigeria, first and foremost, it must conduct a census of unemployed people in the country. Every unemployed person must be made to fill forms available at every government office free of charge. From these forms, a current data base of unemployed Nigerians will be developed. Thus, information such as age, sex, qualifications, experience etc can be obtained. With the inclusion of photos and fingerprint impression, it would be difficult to enter names twice as some of our compatriots would like to do.
When this data base is completed, then it would be necessary for government to introduce a social welfare program which provides a sustenance allowance to the unemployed. This allowance stops as soon as a person gets a job. Provision for this can be shared among the federal, state and local governments. Compared to the billions spent every year on security (and much more looted), it is NOT too much for government to issue a monthly payment of 3,000 naira to every unemployed Nigerian. That way, a lot of petty theft and crimes would be reduced and millions of lives would be touched. There would also be a positive impact on the economy as most of the ‘unemployment benefits’ would end up in the purchase of goods and services. But beyond the development of a social security net is the question of how governments can actually create employment. It is a fact that government cannot employ every one in the country, even if it had the resources. It is also recognized that the private sector is the engine room of the economy that can create jobs and stimulate economic growth and development. So how can he two work in concert? Government cannot just bring out billions of naira and proclaim that jobs be created. But when money is channeled to the right sectors of the economy, particularly infrastructure, then millions of jobs can created at the same time that infrastructure is being developed.
Recently, the federal government announced award of road contracts totaling nearly 400 billion naira after a single Federal Executive Council meeting. Several major highways are to be rehabilitated while many new ones are to be built. The river Niger is to be dredged. Bridges are to be built. Contractors and consultants are having a field day. But in real terms, how many jobs will these contracts create for the Nigerian economy? How do we ensure that foreign contractors and consultants, apart from repatriating their profits, do not bring in people from their home countries when there are Nigerians qualified to do these jobs?
The federal, state and even local councils must put in place measures to tie award of contracts to the number of jobs that beneficiary companies will create. At the moment, the Bureau for Public Procurement, as well the Procurement Departments/ Units of all government agencies have a set of guidelines governing the prequalification, selection and award of contracts to contractors and consultants. The most obvious of these considerations is cost effectiveness. Thus, the company with the lowest cost (with exceptions), gets the contracts. But we need to introduce other considerations such as which bid create more permanent and temporary jobs? What is the ratio of local and foreign workers? And what percentage of profits would be repatriated?
From major infrastructure contracts to basic office supplies and consultancies, government must find ways of tying the award of contracts to the number of jobs that contractors and other beneficiaries of government projects would create. Mechanisms should be put in place to ensure that all claims by contractors are verifiable. There is nothing new about this suggestion because it has been done in other countries. Some countries even insist that products to be used or supplied in projects must be locally manufactured. Even foreign aid sometimes comes with conditions. Is there any wonder that Japanese aid to agric extension workers almost always comes in form of Toyota vehicles and other equipment? They ‘aid’ us by transferring old model equipment to us, but bind us to them because the spare parts and other support services must be purchased from Japan. All aids, loans and grants from foreign governments have similar conditions.
It is time for the government to face the challenge of unemployment in Nigeria by tying the award of contracts beyond a specific sum to the number of jobs the beneficiary company would create. That way, rather than just harping on about the 7 Point Agenda, government policies would actually create jobs in the Nigerian economy. After all, all FEC meetings end with announcement of the award of billions of naira worth of contracts.
Suleiman is a student at A.B.U, Zaria. |