NATIONAL COUNCIL ON WORKS URGES ASSEMBLY TO PASS ROAD SECTOR REFORM BILL

The National Council on Works has urged the National Assembly to fast track the passage of the National Road Sector Reform Bill, meant to improve current funding of roads project in Nigeria through Public Private Partnership.

This was part of resolutions arrived at by the council during its 22nd meeting presided over by the minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, in Katsina on Thursday.

The resolution was contained in a communiqué issued after the meeting signed by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Abubakar Magaji, which was made available to journalists on Friday.

The National Council on Works also declared in the 41 point communiqué, that there should be synergy between the federal and states government to make Nigeria roads, more users’ friendly and accident free.

The communiqué revealed that the council, in the course of the meeting, received, listed and considered 35 memoranda, under six thematic groups ,namely: Prioritisation and Optimisation of Allocated Road Infrastructure Funds; Road Safety; Road Transport Policy; Road Construction and Rehabilitation; Surveying and Mapping; and The Role of Professionals (Engineers and Quantity Surveyors, Technicians and Artisans in the Work Sector).

The council approved that both the federal and states ministries of works should ensure that techniques for allocating funds to the zones/states to achieve specific national goals in road infrastructure, as well as guidelines on project selection should be based on empirical analysis, economic and financial stability.

The meeting also urged the Federal Road Safety Corps to release the Nigeria Road Safety Strategy: 2014-2018 documents and to ensure its speedy implementation.

It was also resolved at the meeting that a task force should be constituted to be led by the Federal Controllers of Works in each state to” sensitize and facilitate the removal of the illegal and inappropriate speed bumps from roads across the country, as well as, determine the correct location and types of speed bumps to be erected on highways.”

The Council also enjoined all ties of government to place streetlight poles behind the road setback rather at the centre of the road.

Source: Punchng.com