2023-04-17 00:47:26
The works of the 1time ordinary session of the National Assembly for the year 2023 continue in the hemicycle. On Saturday April 15, the Prime Minister, Head of Government, Mr. Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou, and the Minister of Equipment, Mr. Gado Sabo Moctar answered two topical questions asked by the deputies within the framework of the control of government action. Both questions focused on current government policy and the delay in the construction of the Malbaza-Dabnou road.
In the topical question he put to the Head of Government, MP Omar Hamidou Tchiana denounced what he described as “a catastrophic economic situation” in the country. He accused the government of awarding illegal contracts to acquaintances who do not meet the conditions laid down by law. “Indeed, since six Councils of Ministers, with your blessing and that of Mohamed Bazoum, the ministers have been hiding from the people the amounts and the winners of the contracts in violation of article 13 of decree 018 / PM / ARCOP of January 23 2023 which makes them the obligation”, estimated the deputy Omar Hamidou Tchiana.
In his response, Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou recalled that communications in the Council of Ministers of public procurement are the will of the government which instituted it by an order of the Prime Minister while nothing obliges it. “It was the Prime Minister who demanded that the ministers communicate to the Council of Ministers any market for an amount greater than 300 million. And they do,” said the Head of Government. In addition, Mr. Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou invited the elected officials to refer to the press releases of the Councils of Ministers where they will find, for each market concerned, the amounts, the assignees and also the selection procedures. “This political will at the top of the state and government makes Niger the champion in the fight against corruption,” he added.
On the true economic situation of the country, Mr. Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou explained that Niger is a leader of economic growth in the WAEMU space and on the African continent. The balance sheet for the year 2022, he said, showed a growth rate of 11.5%, despite the international and local context marked by multifaceted crises. “There is no WAEMU country that has achieved such a growth rate. There is practically no African country that has reached such a growth rate”, underlined the Head of Government who referred to the Report on the performance of government action 2022, recently presented by CAPEG and to statistics international financial institutions.
The second topical question raised in the framework of the monitoring of government action by deputies relates to the delay in the construction site, with state funds, of the Malbaza-Dabnou road, in the region of Tahoua. 28 months after the launch of the construction site, noted MP Idi Ango Ousmane, the work is not finished and is already 10 months behind schedule. By this question addressed to the Minister of Equipment, the deputy Idi Ango Ousmane wanted to know the reasons which explain this considerable delay taken by the site and to be informed on the situation on the date of the compensation of the impacted.
The Minister of Equipment, Mr. Gado Sabo Moctar, indicated that this project is currently at around a 25% progress rate. This problem, he said, is characteristic of most infrastructure projects financed from the national budget and is due to payment problems. “In 2022, it was nearly 30 billion that we were able to pay to Nigerien companies. This effort, we will continue it, ”promised the Minister of Equipment. In addition, he affirmed that the question of compensation for those affected will be definitively evacuated in the weeks and months to come because a team dedicated to this purpose is already on site for the necessary assessments in such circumstances.
Souleymane Yahaya(one)
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