democracy and social service delivery in nigeria ( a case study of free medical programme of rivers...

Democracy and Social Service Delivery in Nigeria: A Case Study of Free Medical Programme of Rivers State Government (2007-2013)

By

Akujuru, Chukunonye A. [NCE, B.Ed ,LLB, B.L., MSc.]Rivers State College of Arts and Science, Rumuola, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

&Enyioko, Newman C. (B.Sc., MBA, M.Sc., MNIM)

Medonice Consulting and Research Institute, Port Harcourt

AbstractThis study is an empirical assessment of Democracy and Social Service

Delivery in Nigeria: A Case Study of Free Medical Programme of Rivers State Government (2007-2013). Structured questionnaire made up of open and close ended questions; personal observation and interview were used to collect primary data. The secondary data were collected through textbooks, journals, newspapers, government and internet publications. Analyses of data were through descriptive statistics of tables and simple percentages. The study revealed that Rivers state Government has averagely performed in social service delivery more especially as it concerns free medical care. In spite of this, the study discovered that some of the factors affecting the discharge of social service delivery by the Rivers state Government in terms timeliness, satisfaction, adequacy and effectiveness are insufficient funds; irregular payment of salaries and allowances; undue political interference and divided loyalty; poor observance of the principle of meritocracy in recruitment and promotion of staff and corruption. It was recommended among others that employment and promotion should be based on ability, high performance, experience, qualification and not patronage; intensification of the campaign against corruption at the local government level by bringing to book all corrupt public officials; regular payment of salaries and allowances and increase funding backed up by prudent management. Finally, the study recommends that undue political interference in the affairs of local governments should be discouraged and stopped.

Keywords: Corruption, Democracy, Ineffective Service Delivery, Meritocracy, Quality Service Delivery, Medical Programme, Rivers State, Social Service Delivery

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INTRODUCTIONThe relationship between democracy and social service delivery lies at the heart

of this study. Essentially, the task of any society is to reconstruct and revitalize itself, build its own capabilities and educate, organize and mobilize the citizens with the view to ensuring that democratic space is expanded; democratic culture is deepened, and democracy itself is consolidated and made to become sustainable and irreversible.

Nourished by the milk of liberal constitutionalism and political imperative, indeed the comfort of human rights, a vibrant democratic structure enhanced by popular sovereignty; placing powers in the hands of the people, men and women, and their popularly elected representatives, and in doing so, creates the very conditions which civil society will blossom and flower (Akindele, 2003:7). Unfortunately, the environmental factor surrounding the Nigerian democracy makes democratic institutions to remain weak and fragile, therefore becoming susceptible to collapse when faced with a low level of political stress.

It has become clear that the sustainability of Nigerian democratic space and social service delivery has to be anchored on two policy imperatives and programmes one is sustainable development which presently cries for a more serious imaginative and effective management of national resources endowment on the part of the government in the country. The other is effective institutional capacity building for conflict prevention, management, resolution, peace-keeping and security which must be adequately put in place to enhance social service delivery and economic stability in Rivers State, Nigeria.

Statement of the ProblemGovernment efforts, in injecting efficiency and effectiveness in the ability to

deliver through reforms like SERVICOM Charter and anti-corruption agencies have remained abortive in their results. The need to improve the state government service delivery cannot be overemphasized. The demand for social service at rural level is on the increase because of the increase in population. More than 70 percent of the Nigerian population reside in the rural areas and are directly or indirectly affected by services rendered by the third tier governments. The recent flood disaster of 2012 in the country which affected many the state governments has heightened the need for effective social delivery to Nigerians. Services lie at the very hub of economic activity in any society (Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons, 2001:3). In other words, services play a central role in the survival of any country’s economy and people. For instance, services provided by government such as public education, health care, well-maintained roads, safe drinking water, security of lives and property are fundamental for any country’s economy to be stable, survive and people to prosper.

The establishment and creation of Rivers state dates back to 1967. It was created to bring government closer to people by rendering cutting edge social service like maintenance of rural roads, provision of potable drinking water, security of lives and property. How satisfactorily the present Rivers state Government has performed in service delivery to the people has been a subject of debate and doubt more especially in the area of free medical services.

Objectives of the Study

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The purpose of this study is to examine Democracy and Social Service Delivery in Nigeria: A Case Study of Free Medical Programme of Rivers State Government (2007-2013). Specifically, the study attempts to achieve the following:

i. Ascertain the level of awareness of social service delivery expected from the Rivers state Government.

ii. Identify the major Social Services (Medical Deliveries)provided by Rivers state Government from 2007 to 2013

iii. Examine the level of performance to which Rivers state Government has rendered Social Service delivery to the People

iv. Identify the factors that hinder social service delivery in Rivers State.

Research QuestionsThe following research questions guided the study:

i. Is there any level of awareness of social service delivery expected from the Rivers state Government?

ii. What are the major social services (medical deliveries) provided by Rivers State Government from 2007 to 2013?

iii. What is the level of performance to which Rivers state government has rendered social service delivery to the people?

iv. What are the factors that hinder social service delivery in Rivers State?

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATUREDefinition of ConceptsCorruption: Corruption has attracted a plethora of definitions and it does seem almost everybody know what the term connotes. In its simple form, corruption is the misuse of authority (or one position) as a result of consideration of personal gains which may not necessarily be monetary (Ikejiani-Clark, 2001). Corruption could also be taken to mean, a deviation from acceptable norms, values and standard of a society. Statistical data on the nature and form of corruption in Nigeria are alarming. As Achebe (1983:53) puts it, corruption in Nigeria has grown enormously in variety, magnitude and brazenness since the beginning of the second republic because it has been extravagantly fuelled by budgetary abuse and political patronage on an unprecedented scale.

Democracy: The word “democracy” literally means “rule by the people”, taken from the Greek terms, demos (meaning “people”), and kratos (meaning “rule”). It is a political concept and form of government, where all people are supposed to have equal voices in shaping policy (typically expressed through a vote for representatives).

Ineffective Service Delivery: Service delivery characterized with untimeliness, inadequacy, dissatisfaction (of the customer or consumer), unfairness, dishonesty and lack of transparency.Meritocracy: This refers to the recruitment of workers based on a person’s intelligence, talent, ability, possession of relevant academic qualifications and experience.

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Quality Service Delivery: Service delivery characterized with timeliness, adequacy, satisfaction (of the customer or consumer), fairness, honesty and transparency.

Social Service Delivery: In this study, service delivery is accorded two basic meanings. Firstly, it is equated with the provision of social services like education, security, drinking water, sanitation, infrastructure, transportation like mass transit, social welfare services like bursary, scholarships to students, disaster prevention and rehabilitation. Bello-Imam and Roberts (2001), agree with this understanding of service delivery when they noted that the state social service delivery is the provision of services intended to alleviate human suffering and by extension, enhance the quality of life of the citizens.

Theoretical FrameworkFor the purpose of this study, the researcher shall make use of the structural

functionalist theory in unfolding the concept of social service delivery in the Nigerian state. Uya (1999:27) wrote that to understand the functionalist theory, one must look into the biological implications of a living organism as it patterns to the evolutionary theory.In this simple organism all the necessary functions of life were performed by the same part, the single cell. Therefore, the development of a single cell gave rise to differentiation of cells into parts enhancing specialization, adaptation and integration of the organism to its environment. Thus, the greater the degree of adaptation, the fitter the organism was to survive. This is the Darwinian doctrine of survival of the fittest.

In applying this to the doctrine of democracy and social service delivery in the Fourth Republic, requires a mutual coordinated links between the rulers and the ruled to ensure effective governance. Thus differentiation and specialization may occur in any of the parts of society. And this requires that they be integrated with other parts of the civil society so that the entire polity can adapt to its environment. This tendency can be said to be a panacea towards safe-guarding societal dysfunction. Consequently, the parts of Nigerian society are its political and democratic institutions namely, the National Assembly, the court system, the police, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to mention but a few. Thus, the Nigerian Fourth Republic requires the coordinate working and harmonization of these democratic institutions to ensure social service delivery in Nigeria. The malfunctioning of one of the above institutions means the corresponding dysfunction of the entire political landscape of Nigeria. This can impede growth and sustainable development in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic.

However, the Nigerian experience of functionalism sees the ideology as soothed for the dominant class in the society whose whims and caprices predominates such democratic institutions. The agenda of governance becomes skewed to one side, hence, Nigeria experiences high level of what can be referred to as elitist hedonism. For instance, from the beginning of the erstwhile Obasanjo’s Fourth Republic in May, 1999, the political climate has been a function of the powers of manipulations of the few elites in the society. Developments in Nigerian politics shows that several political parties, 30 of them in number at that time, duly registered by INEC, out of which two: the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Nigerian People Party (ANPP) held sway as the remaining 28 became silent in the scheme of things. This is a glaring phenomena of elite politics in Nigeria.

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Waldt (2001) wrote that democracy cannot be enhanced and the various arms of government adequately work well considering the high level of witch-hunting of the legislature by the executive through frequent removal of members of the legislature. Right from inception of the Obasanjo’s Fourth Republic, Nigeria has had not less than five Senate President in succession. This shows the level of political immaturity and lack of harmony among the various arms of government. Several arguments have also cropped up to criticize the manner of selection of the members of the erstwhile political reforms conference in Abuja. Critics said the characters of delegates to the Confab were mostly government cronies and sycophants who have got nothing to offer as a way forward for Nigeria.

The Concept of Democracy and Social Service Delivery in NigeriaIt is conceivable, however, that in the euphoria and optimism, one may forget that

democracy, though un-arguably the best form of government for any nation, is also perhaps the most difficult to manage. Democracy, it should be remembered is not a potted plant which can be transplanted into any soil and grown without work or effort. In the peculiar circumstances of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic (1999), as apply observed by Professor Sam Oyovbaire:

The problem of democracy revolves around how to forge a development process which is simultaneously participatory for individual citizens, sensitive to, and protective of individual rights, freedoms and liberty; accommodative of multiple and competitive loyalties; and generative of economic growth and distributive justice (Ogovbaire, 1992:10).

The impact of the above is that non-democratic states of Saudi Arabia, Japan, China, etc, are even more stable even though, democracy is not in practice there. It is obvious to ask here whether democracy can be synonymous with social service delivery. The answer no doubt, is in the affirmative. Thus, democracy in most Third World Countries (Nigeria inclusive) is antagonistic to social service delivery. For instance, the problem of Nigeria is even more confounded by the tendency, especially election, the May 1999 Presidential election and of course, the recent 2007 presidential elections respectively. These are all indices of poor political culture, which cannot be the same as social service delivery.

As Uya (1999:86) has observed, though the successful conduct of free and fair elections is an important cornerstone of democracy and social service delivery, democratization of a policy involves much more. These include: love of freedom and equality; resentment of autocracy, freedom of dissent, respect for individuality of each person, creation of appropriate environment for individual to free himself from the constraints of poverty, hunger, ill-health, coercion and control; equality of opportunity and access to education, medical attention and work; equality of all, the ruler and the ruled, before the law; the creation of an ordered, stable society which guarantees security of lives and property of individuals; cultivation and inculcation in the citizenry of a democratic temper, an attitude of service and trusteeships, a sense of civic responsibility, a spirit of fair play and tolerance of other people’s opinions and interests; absence of

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arrogance and arbitrariness and a sense of honest, faithful, selfless, disinterested, impartial and objective service, dedicated, selfless, disciplined, patriotic, honest and highly motivated leadership style, free from social indiscipline, ethnic hatred and jealousies, religious bigotry and the tendency to personalize ruler-ship and power; and a deliberate and determined move towards the creation of a society bound together by shared sentiments and out look. All of these are basic ingredients of good workable governance.

Factors Necessary for a DemocracyIt is undisputable that sustaining democracy is the function of the citizens. Since the civil society consists of numerous organizations that covers diverse interest and segments of the society, it should become the major defender of democracy. Being involved in policy-making and implementation by the government, civil society will be able to monitor the democratic process and the performance of institutions and programmes. If it is able to monitor and evaluate the performance of the democratic project, it implies that it will not only defend democracy but sustain it (Huntington, 1976:180).

Democracy goes beyond forming political parties, general elections and having a civilian government in power. It is a process that does not terminate overnight and involves full and effective participation of citizens in determining policies and decisions which affects their lives at all levels and at all times. It involves the responsiveness of the government to the needs and aspirations of the citizens. It is based on the ability of a nation to provide channels for discussions, consultations, mobilizations and propaganda.

What we therefore, have in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic is a young democracy that is transiting and suppose to grow to maturity; and the transition is at a crucial state. The response of the state, civil society and the political class to the inherent contradictions of the transition to democracy will determine whether it will further develop or decay. This is the level where the role of the people becomes not only critical, but also paramount.

Consequently, democracy as a process has been in place in Nigeria, since 1999, regardless of its shortcomings. The civil society and many Nigerians expected high level of performance from the Obasanjo government. It is their belief that the emerging democracy gave them the opportunity to elect the people they wanted to rule them. Their expectations were that these people know their predicaments and should be able to resolve them. But to their greatest dismay, their expectations have been over shadowed by political gimmicks. However, Ihonvbere (1995:43) opined that as sine qua non sustainable democracy in Nigeria, the following factors are discernible.

Firstly, it is paramount that the civil society project in Nigeria should be re-articulated and reinforced to have nationalist ideas devoid of parochialism and sectional sentiment. If this is effectively pursued, it will help in terms of inculcating nationalistic and patriotic values and attitudes not only within the rank and file of the society, but amongst majority of the citizens.

Secondly, civil society organization, particularly, the pro-democracy and civil right groups should expand the coverage for their impact to be felt. Having a national outlook will not only make it more acceptable, but also enhanced in the spread of democratic values. Furthermore, it is important that sectoral networks of the

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organizations be established. Through networking, these organizations could be more effective in their activities.

Finally, a mechanism should be evolved by the civil society to effectively monitor the political system and democratic transition at all levels of government. If this is done, the civil society will serve as a check on the political system and actors to ensure that there is no retreat to authoritarianism and subsequent destruction of democratic process.

Through this, it can also check on the credibility of elected officers and other public officers and also ensure that they are accountable. It should have the power to take certain measures against such officers whose integrity is questionable and who failed to be accountable in the fulfillment of electoral promises.

Factors Necessitating Social Service DeliveryNeedless to say that the crisis of the Nigerian state far from being managerial has

always been structural and it has its roots in the relations of exploitations, unjust domestic class structures, external dependency and distortions of the neo-colonial social formations (Ake, 1986:72). It is all these that produced the contagion effects of the militarization of contemporary Nigerian society in the past and the negative tendencies this translates into our development. Consequently, to carry through a successful project of democratization and sustainable democratic transition in the interest of social service delivery in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic, we need to go beyond the prevalent myths about immediate and remote causes of poor governance to projected solutions to arrest prospective socio-economic and political decays in Nigeria.

One way of achieving this is to insist on the authentic democratization and empowerment of the toilers of Nigeria. This is the only condition for peace and progress, and it requires the institutionalization of a people’s system of government that is responsive to the imperatives of the collective aspirations of the generality of the people of Nigeria. Our Fourth Republic democracy must empower the masses of the people, a democracy that guarantees the survival of the ordinary Nigerian. The Fourth Republic needs a system of government that empowers Nigerians to do those things that will promote the well being of the nation. The brand of democracy that was being orchestrated by Obasanjo regime did not guaranteed this. It has only sustained the oppressive system that has destroyed our collective senses of worth (Oyovbaire, 1999).

Conversely, the ultimate goal of any authentic democratization process in the Fourth Republic is to institute popular democracy in Nigeria, a democracy that begins and ends with the people as they develop their individual and collective potentials in the interest of the country. Democracy and social service delivery seeks to involve every stake holder in the control of economic and political power in a way that reinvigorates his or her faith and commitment in the corporate reality of the nation. This will guide against the monopoly of state powers by the so-called political god-fathers.

Jega (2002) wrote that to ensure a sustainable democracy and social service delivery in the Fourth Republic, the three arms of government namely: the Legislature, Judiciary and the Executive must be restructured to make them amenable to proposed political and socio-economic restructuring. The Judiciary, the Legislature and above all, the Executive arm of government will be required to change their character. This is ordinarily translated into the radical transformation of the character of Nigerian state.

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There cannot be democracy without a viable state just as social service delivery cannot be attained in the midst of prebendalism, piracy, indolence and ineptitude.

Consequently, there is need for the restructuring of the nation. This is necessarily required to give everybody a sense of belonging as a positive motivation to participate in the process of nation building. One would like to suggest a process of restructuring which integrates the right to self-determination on the basis of corporate existence of the Nigerian polity.

Understanding Social Service Delivery and Development in Rivers StateThe concept of governance is not new. It has been around in both political and

academic discourse for a long time. In the last decade, however, issues relating to governance have come to occupy the centre stage in developmental literature. More recently, it gained currency in the literature of African development. As a result, among other things, the UNDP (2002) study identifies the crises in the continent as essentially those of governance. By implication this phenomena can be aptly referred to as the extensive personalization of power, the denial of fundamental human rights, widespread corruption, and the prevalence of unaccountable government.

However, four aspects of governance have been identified in the social science literature. These are reciprocity, trust and accountability. When these elements are jointly present, the greater is the likelihood of social service delivery and the opposite when they are weak. Governance has links with participatory development, human rights and democratization. As a policy framework, social service delivery imposes demands on policy makers in their exercise of power. According to Boeninger (1991) it encompasses

i) An effective state, i.e, one that possesses an enabling political and legal environment for economic growth and equitable distribution.

ii) Civil societies and communities that is present in the policy making process, with the state facilitating political and social interaction, and fostering societal cohesion and stability.

iii) A private sector that is allowed to play an independent role in the economy.All the three elements, singularly and in combination, together with sound

economic management in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic are essential for sustainable development (Boeninger, 1991). There are also the more profound issues of the meaning of development and the precise relationship between the different components of governance and development.

The concept of development is also by no means unproblematic (Sen, 1974:40). In recent years, it has become fuzzy and difficult to define especially as the concept of sustainable development has gained currency. Development involves economic, social, political, environmental and cultural dimensions. Thus, while economic and social progress and the elimination of poverty are key objectives of development, the development well being also encompasses freedom from fear and arbitrary arrest, free speech association, and the right to run for and hold political office (Sen, 1974:46).

It is worthy of note that democracy is not synonymous with political and economic development. Most countries of the Japan, China, Singapore, North Korea, can be said to be undemocratic, but the high level technological development among the Asian Tigers cannot be equated with most democratic states of Africa (Nigeria inclusive). The contention here buttresses Alexander Pope’s assertion that “for forms of government,

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let the fools contend, what is best administered is best…” (Popes, as cited in Tamumo 1974:61).

The implication of this assertion is a function of the character of leadership in Africa vis-avis the vision to project the values of societal development in the interest of all. This point to the fact that there is no clear links between democratic forms of government and economic growth. Efforts to test this relationship empirically have been inconclusive, contradictory or both (Sirowy, 1990:5).

One can say from the above analysis that these steps have had positive effect on the political and socio-economic development of nation states across the world. Little wonder, democracy is now a universal concept for economic and political development made possible through good leadership roles and dedication to good policy measures.

Health Care Delivery In Rivers StateEquity in the provision of health care to citizens is important. It is evident that the

poor masses lacked access to the basic health services and received low quality medical care due to inability to pay for quality care. Moreover, government spending went disproportionately to the affluent in the form of free or below cost care in sophisticated public tertiary hospitals which was the basis of evolving a new National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). This is shown below:

Table 2.1: Nigeria Health Statistics (2007-2013)Medical Delivery Variables 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013Population per physician 3,707 3,744 3,781 4,977 4,479 4,529 4,675Population per Nursing Staff 605 617 629 1004 906 920 1,082Population per Hospital Bed 1,477 1,555 1,632 1,738 1,564 1,6112 2,124Life expectancy at birth 52 53 53 54 45 45 45Source: CBN Annual Report and Statement of Account (2013:32).

From the above the maximum population per physician among Nigerians was put at 3,707 in 2007. But later rose to 4,675 in 2013. This indicates an additional increase of more than 100%. This is due largely to overpopulation as a result of lack of government policy in birth control. The same case holds true about Nigeria’s population per nursing staff of 605 in bed and 2,124 in 2013 respectively. Moreover, life expectantly ratio increased considerably in 2007 and dropped sharply to 45 years in 2013. The factor responsible for this could be inadequacy of drugs to control diseases in Nigeria.

Research MethodologyThis section deals with mechanisms for gathering of information for analysis of

data. The population of study consists of the entire 5,689,087 people in Rivers State according to 2006 population census. The sample size shall then be chosen to involve at least four (4) cadres of staff in the Rivers State Ministries and the general public randomly selected. The sample selection of the selected respondents recognized by this population definition was done randomly through a probabilistic sampling technique. The sample size of the study was determined as follows:

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Principal staff 28Management staff 45Middle management staff 53

Junior staff 77

General Public 102Total 305Therefore, the sample size = 305 Staff

The collection of data was based on two sources namely; primary sources and secondary Sources. Primary data were generated from samples of the study. The instruments used to source these data were structured and unstructured questionnaire as well as random interviews of the staff of the Rivers State Ministry, Port Harcourt. The secondary source of data consisted of desk research reviews of related literature which formed the foundation of this study; they were derived from standard texts, academic and professional journals. The tools of data analysis included: Simple averages, percentages and ranking which have been proved to be useful mathematical tools in data analysis.

Data Presentation

A sample of 305 staff from the Rivers State civil servants and others was drawn for the study, for which the sample elements consisted of 4 cadres of staff, (principal, management, middle management, junior) and the general public. Accordingly, 305 copies of questionnaire were administered on the civil servants in Rivers State and as well the general public. Out of the 305 copies of questionnaire administered, 281copies were retrieved and after going through them 270 (i.e. 88.52% response rate) copies were found useful for data analysis.

Table 1: Administration and Retrieval of Questionnaire from the RespondentsOptions Number of

Questionnaire Administered

Number of Questionnaire Retrieved from Respondents

Number of questionnaire found useful for the study

Response Rate

Principal staff 28 25 25 89.28 %Management staff 45 44 42 93.33%Middle management staff

53 51 50 94.33%

Junior staff 77 70 67 87.01%General Public 102 91 86 84.31%Total 305 281 270 88.52%Source: Survey Data, 2014

Table 1 reveals how the copies of questionnaire were distributed to the sampled elements in the Rivers State civil service and the general public, the number generated there from and the number found useful/relevant/valid for the data analysis. The data analysis indicated that 28 copies of questionnaire were administered on the principal staff in the Rivers State civil service and 25 copies of them were actually retrieved, and 25

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copies of questionnaire were found relevant, this represents 89.28% response rate of this segment. Equally, 45 copies of questionnaire were administered on the management staff in the Rivers state Ministries, 44 copies were collected from them, after going through them all the 42 copies (i.e. 93.33% response rate) were found useful for the study. From the middle management staff of the civil servants in Rivers State; 53 copies of questionnaire were administered on them, and 51 copies retrieved, and 50 copies (representing 94.33% response rate) were found useful for the study. Also, 77 copies of questionnaire were administered on the junior staff in the Rivers state Ministries while 70 copies were collected and after going through them 67 copies of questionnaire (i.e. 87.01% response rate) were found useful in this segment. For the respondents in general public segment; 102 copies of questionnaire were administered on them, and 91 copies returned while only 86 copies of questionnaire (representing 84.52% response rate) were found useful for the study.

In all, the study administered 305 copies of questionnaire were administered on the civil servants and the general public in Rivers State, while 281 copies of questionnaire were actually retrieved from the respondents. However, after editing the copies of questionnaire 270 copies (representing 88.52% response rate) were found useful for the data analysis in this study.

Demographic Characteristics of the Respondents

Table 2: Sex of the RespondentsOptions Number of Respondents Percentage ResponseMale 157 58%Female 113 42%Total 270 100%Source: Field work, 2014

Table 2 shows that the respondents were made up of 58% male and 42% female. The male respondents from figure 1 above are slightly bigger than female composition. This perhaps implies that the workforce of Rivers state Government civil service is slightly dominated by male employees. As female employees, they are most likely to be encumbered by family pressures emanated from raising children and other family commitment. This may tell on timeliness and satisfactory manner with which they deliver service or perform their job in the state government.

Table 3: Educational Qualifications of the RespondentsCategory No of Respondents Percentage(%)FSLC - -SSCE 30 11ND/NCE 60 22B.SC/BA/HND 140 52M.SC/MA 30 11PhD 10 4Total 270 100

Source: Field work, 2014

Table 3 above shows that the respondents possess educational qualifications

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which they may have acquired before gaining employment into the service of the the state government council or while on the job. With 140 respondents representing 52% possessing B.SC/BA/HND certificate, it could be said that the workforce possess some form of educational qualification and capacity that could enhance their performance in service delivery; while 30(11%) of the respondents have masters degree, only 10 (4%) respondents have a PhD degree with none coming First School Leaving Certificate, 30 (11%) respondents possess SSCE while 60 (22%) respondents have ND/NCE.

Table 4: Awareness of Social Service Delivery Expected from Rivers state Government

Options No of Respondents PercentageYes 220 81.5

No 30 11.1

Undecided 20 7.4Total 270 100


Table 3.4 reveals that majority of the respondents 81.5% are aware of the social service provision like health care services, potable water, market stores, security of lives and property expected from Rivers state Government. While11.1% of the respondents said they are not aware, 7.4% were undecided in their position. It can be inferred that this high level of awareness among respondents is a strong potential that can be harvested for quality, effective and satisfactory service delivery in the government.

Table 5: List of Social Services (Medical Deliveries)Provided By Rivers state Government from 2007 to 2013

S/N Project Description Social Service Type State of Completion

% ofWork Done

Remarks

1Refurbishing and Equipping of Braithwaite Memorial Hospital, Port Harcourt

Healthcare project Completed andSupplied

100Needs regular maintenance for lasting effect

2

Children under 6 years, adults over 60 years, pregnancies leading to caesarean sections and first 24 hours of emergency medical service are all free

Children and Maternal medical Services

Completed and in Use

100Needs continuous maintenance and practice for full beneficial effect

3

Immunization activities are carried through. All the 354 primary health care facilities in the state

Free Medical Services Completed

programme100

Commendable efforts by The state government and should be encouraged

4 Maternal and Child Health/Family Planning & Safe Motherhood

Free maternal and children free medical services

Completed

Healthcare programme

100 Good programme embarked upon by government

5 6 Health facilities in PHALGA Health care Services

Completed

Healthcare

projects

100 Needs improvement andExpansion

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6350 health centres, in addition to 10 general hospitals

General Heath care projects Completed

HealthcareProjects

100Massive healthcare projects that are needed for full beneficial impact by the community

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Re-training of all categories of staff in the Health Sector of the State. Training and

human capital development of staff in the health sector

ContinuousProgramme for effectiveHealthcaredevelopment

80Very commendable programmes that require continuity

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Recruitment of qualified staff to address the severe manpower shortage in the Health Sector.

Manpower recruitment in the health sector


85

More classrooms stillneeded and this should be matched with enhanced teachers welfare which is currently poor

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Construction of Karibi-Whyte Mega Hospital at the cost of $98 million.

Establishment of comprehensive hospital project

Completed HealthcareProject

100Laudable project. More of this type of project is needed and this should be matched with enhanced staff welfare which currently is not very good poor

10 Maintenance contracts are being instituted for different equipment in the Hospitals

Maintenance and equipping of hospitals


75 More maintenance efforts neededIn this area

Government has embarked on massive infrastructural development all over the LGAs

Infrastructural development Services


70 Commendable and encouraging development

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Governor Amaechi personally and met with Doctors in the State and set up a Committee on Health Policy.

Committee for heath care policies

Completed 100More meetings and committees classrooms needed on healthcare policy

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The State government is in the process of starting the State Health Insurance Programme.

Health Insurance Scheme


50State government should implement the Health Insurance Programme. that should be matched with enhanced staff welfare

13 Adequate supply of basic water and sanitation, Prevention and control of the stately endemic diseases and injuries.Appropriate treatment of common diseases and injuries. Provision of essential drugs. Mental health Control of HIV/AIDS.

Developmental Facilities and Services for drugs and control of HIV/AIDS


70 Commendable efforts by The state government and should be encouraged

14 Establishment of a worthwhile Auto Disable Syringe factory that currently produces 160 million syringes annually

Medical supportedproject

Completed 100 Very good project that other states in Nigeria should emulate


Table 5 above shows in specific terms some of the healthcare projects, facilities or services executed by the Rivers state Government from 2007 to 2013. The data give

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details of the Projects, social service type and the state of completion as well as the percentage of work done. The data have revealed the refurbishing and equipping of Braithwaite Memorial Hospital in Port Harcourt which is a good healthcare project that has been completed and delivered. The data equally show that children under 6 years, adults over 60 years, pregnancies leading to caesarean sections and first 24 hours of emergency medical service are all free medical services rendered by the Rivers State government. The table also shows that immunization activities are carried out through all the 354 primary health care facilities in the state. Maternal and child health/family planning & safe motherhood, 6 health facilities in PHALGA, 350 health centres, in addition to 10 general hospitals as indicated in the table above are provided by the government. Re-training of all categories of staff in the health sector of the state, recruitment of qualified staff to address the severe manpower shortage in the health sector are equally the social services delivered by Rivers State government. Construction of Karibi-Whyte Mega Hospital at the cost of $98 million, maintenance contracts are being instituted for different equipment in the Hospitals. Government has embarked on massive infrastructural development all over the 23 LGAs.

Table 5 also reveals that Governor Amaechi personally met with Doctors in the State and set up a Committee on Health Policy, the state government is equally in the process of starting the State Health Insurance Programme. The analysis reveal that adequate supply of basic water and sanitation, prevention and control of the stately endemic diseases and injuries, appropriate treatment of common diseases and injuries, provision of essential drugs, control of HIV/AIDS, establishment of a worthwhile auto disable syringe factory that currently produces 160 million syringes annually have been executed by the Rivers State government from 2007 to 2013.

Table 6: Performance of Rivers State Government in Social Service Delivery to the People

Performance Variable No. of Respondents Percentage (%)

Excellent in terms of quality, timeliness, and 30 11.1Poor and lacking adequacy, effectiveness and 90 33.3Moderately well in effectiveness, quality and 120 44.4Undecided 30 11.1Total 270 100


Table 6 shows the rating of Rivers state Government in social service delivery to the people. The rating reveals that Rivers state Government has performed moderately in the provision of healthcare, water, security, market stores, etc in effective, quality and satisfactory manner. This is evidently seen in the 44.4% of the respondents who supported the above rating. Closely followed to the above rating are the 33.3% of the respondents who believed that the state government authorities have not performed well as the state government services to the communities in the state under study lack adequacy, effectiveness and transparency. This rating or evaluation agrees with findings of Afrobarometer study conducted in 2008.

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Table 7: Are there factors that hinder social service delivery in Rivers state Government.

Options No of Respondents Percentage(%)Yes 230 85.2

No 20 7.4

Undecided 20 7.4

Total 270 100Source: Field work, 2014

Obviously, from table 7 , there are factors that s low down the wheels of service delivery in Rivers state. These factors from the results of interview and observation are essentially financial inadequacy caused by corruption, low internally generated revenue, irregularly payment of salaries and poor staff welfare which have affected workers commitment to duty, heightened cases of absenteeism among workers. Other factors are divided loyalty caused by pressure on council chairmen to meet unholy and unethical demands from politicians and undue political interference. Because council authorities have been unfaithful in the payment of salaries and allowances they lack the moral courage to challenge erring workers.

Table 8: Corruption as one of the Causes of Poor Service Delivery

Options No of Respondents PercentageYes No

25020

937


It is evident from table 8 that corruption contributes to the state of service delivery in Rivers state Government nay the state governments in Nigeria (93% vs. 7%).

Table 9: Insufficient funds as one of causes for inadequate and low quality of services rendered.

Options No of Respondents PercentageYesNo

24030

8911


From the result in table 9 above, it is inferred that insufficient finds suffered by the state governments account for ineffective service delivery in Rivers state Government Area. This is because; those who supported the above position are greater than those who are in support of the opposite form (89% vs. 11%).

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Table 10: Irregular Payment of Salary and Allowances as Reasons

for Absenteeism, lateness to work, lack of commitment and state of service delivery

Options No of Respondents PercentageYes No

22050

8119

Total 270 100Source: Field Survey, 2014

Table 10 above reveals that irregular payment of salary and allowances of workers leads to cases of absenteeism, lateness to work and lack of commitment thus, a bane to effective service delivery by Rivers state Government Authorities. This conclusion is arrived at since those who supported the question posed are greater than those who did not support it (81% vs. 19%). Discussions and observation revealed that workers are presently owned salary arrears of four months. More so, they are sometimes paid half or half of half of their monthly salary. In this situation, workers resort to private business or farming as a means of survival. The above discovery is similar to that made by Khemani(2004) in a survey of service delivery by the Kogi State Government. Khemani(2004) revealed that workers were owned as much as six months even when accounts of the state governments in the state show actual expenditure for salary of the state government health personnel workers. Even when budget allocations were sufficient to cover estimated actual costs, the staff survey revealed non-payment of salaries for several months in the year before the survey.

3.4 Discussion of Findings

Corruption leads to insufficient funds suffered by the state governments and may well be a strong reason for the occurrence of irregular payment of staff salary and allowances. Irregular payment of staff salary and allowances has given birth to poor work attitude, absenteeism, lateness to work and lack of commitment and devotion to work. Workers are forced to seek for supplementary livelihood during office hours as a means of survival. This in turn has affected their productivity. In a study, Ushie, Agba, Agba and Best (2010), discovered that socio-economic status is a significant factor in determining the extent of workers engagement in supplementary livelihood strategies. The above point is corroborated by Okoh (2003) and Best (1999) who maintained that, workers who engage in supplementary livelihood or who push their personal interest above organizational goals and objectives adversely affect the growth and effectiveness of the establishment. It was therefore not surprising to discover that “only skeletal services” are rendered at Rivers state Government Area because of the “de-motivation” of the workforce through irregular payment of salary and allowances. Indeed, the inability of The state Governments in Nigeria to satisfactorily and effectively provide social services has created “service gaps”.

Apart from the Primary level of health care in the state, the governor wassaid has recorded some feats at the secondary level of health care, withthe reconstruction of Kelsey Harrison Hospital, the Dental Hospital and theRivers State University of Science and Technology Medical Centre. But the

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Braithwaite Memorial Hospital, which was undergoing massive reconstructionand its radiology department and clinical laboratories had beenre-equipped, with the Clinotech Group of Canada acting as technicalpartners, is yet to engage the people perfectly in health care deliverywith the mindset of the government.

Amaechi’s efforts in health and education have been lauded. At theBraithwaite Memorial Hospital, the ultra-modern modular theatre complex,which has been said comprises three operating suites, a laundry unit, asterilizing unit and an oxygen-production plant, as well as an adjoiningintensive care unit, which were also been set up in the hospital, isindication that Amaechi is in to help the people, but the people assignedto Mann these infrastructures should show accountability and decorum.

The people have agreed that in the past, people hardly patronized theprimary health centres because of the ruined state of most of theirfacilities. But now that the centres have been transformed into good healthinstitutions through the Amaechi-led government policies, they must giveservices that must reach the primary health centres new outlook. Children,pregnant women, old people of over 60 years and nursing mothers must begiven prompt attention, and not only with free insecticide-treated mosquitonets and anti-malaria drugs given to them.

ConclusionThe deeper a country’s reservoirs of social capital and the more these are based on

horizontal and vertical relations emanating from both government and public realms, the more formidable is the entire body polity. The benefits accruing to this not only enhances social service delivery in Rivers State, it also transcends beyond the unknown in our overall national life.

RecommendationsIn the light of the findings and conclusion of this study, the following

recommendations have been made :(i) Employment and promotion of the state government workers should be based

on the principle of meritocracy through emphasizing high performance, ability, experience, skill and relevant qualifications.

(ii) The problem of corruption in Nigerian the state governments must be urgently addressed in order to free financial resources for the provision of services in this important tier of government. This can be achieved by bringing to book all corrupt the state government chairmen and public officials.

(iii) The salaries and allowances of the state government staff should be regularly paid in order to motivate the workforce for productivity enhancement. For regular payment of salaries and allowances, the actual wage bills of the state governments should be ascertain and deductions made at source for direct payment to workers.

(iv) To solve the problem of inadequate financial resources, three things could be done. One, financial allocations to the state governments should be increased followed by prudent use of them. Secondly, the internally generated revenue of

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the state governments should be increased. To get people to pay their rates and taxes, the state government must perform. Thirdly, corrupt practices which sapped available financial resources of the state government should be addressed through bringing to book all corrupt public officials to serve as deterrence to others.

(v) Undue political interference and divided loyalty should be addressed by giving the state government authorities the free hand to operate. Unethical Practices which encroach into the autonomy of the state government should be stopped.

(vi) Importantly, there is need to cultivate the culture of maintenance of the state government projects to the people and its properties like the council heavy duty equipment.

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