Dickson's Reforms Entrenched Transparency, Accountability And Fiscaldiscipline In Bayelsa State.

Bayelsa State was created in 1996 and in 1999, the first democratically elected government was established. Bayelsa State needed accelerated development hence the rules of recruiting civil servants were compromised. At the State level, so many unqualified persons were recruited into the Civil Service. Governor Dickson fought a cabal that thrived on payroll fraud and mediocrity

Payrolls were prepared with so many fake names while falsification of age and forging of credentials became a norm. Personnel emolument rose astronomically, as pay vouchers were stuffed with fake names.The State devoted a substantial part of her revenue on staff salaries and other benefits, leaving very little to invest in much-needed infrastructure. Although Bayelsa State was in a hurry to develop, the payroll fraud in the State created instant millionaires while due process and accountability were relegated to the background.

Recognizing the lucrative nature of accounting, some civil servants abandoned their specialization and went to read accounting. The first crop of accountants became "principalities" in the Ministries Departments and Agencies and their familiar mode of operation was to stuff payrolls with fake names, over inflate the salary of workers, manipulate contract figures and take huge kick- backs. These corrupt practices became a burden to the State as recurrent expenditure began to spirall. Successive administrations were too scared to carryout reforms because the whole State was becoming a cesspool of corruption.

When Dickson became governor of Bayelsa State in 2012, his vision was to reform the Civil Service and clean up the pay vouchers, eliminate fraud, and to entrech transparency and accountability in the System It was only Dickson who conjured rare courage to cleanse the Civil Service of SYSTEMIC CORUPTION.

The Dickson administration's transparency crusade was given further impetus when the governor assented to the Bayelsa State Income and Expenditure Transparency Bill along with the Bayelsa State Fiscal Responsibility (Amendment) Bill. Dickson had said the bill was intended to entrench transparency and accountability in the business of governance and also place at the doorstep of the people, the right to inquire about any aspect of the government of the day.

The governor further directed that with the passage of the Transparency Bill into Law, the eight Council chairmen should, like the executive arm of government, render account of their stewardship, including the state of finance of their local government areas, to the people. Dickson also noted that with Local Government Amendment Law 2012 aimed at streamlining the administration of the local government system, no political appointee is expected to be a signatory to any council account.

Some staffers of the treasury who constituted themselves into a powerful cabal have been identified as the brain behind the bloated wage bill. While some have been arrested and arraigned in court, others are on the run following the revelation of the on going staff verification.

Governor Dickson asserted that unlike any other before it, government has taken tough measures to strengthen its fight against all forms of graft in the system. The anti corruption stance of this administration is beginning to yield fruits,” Dickson declared who was particularly piqued by the state bloated wage bill hovering between N6.5billion.

The administration took concrete steps to address to address the problem partly responsible for the stunted development in the state by evolving measures aimed at drastically cutting down on the bloated wage bill said to be second to that of Lagos State in spite of Bayelsa paltry population.

The wage bill has since dropped from the initial N6 bn to N4 bn in spite of the fact that the verification exercise has not been concluded.

Dickson’s background as Ijaw activist, former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice and member of the House of Representatives may have prepared him for the activism he brought into governance.

His zero tolerance campaign on corruption has led to the arrest of the hitherto untouchables behind the state bloated wage bill. The prosecution of some of the arrested treasury staff allegedly involved in the state bloated wage scam who are known to have some of the lush properties in Yenagoa in spite of their meager income as civil servants has endeared the administration to the heart of most Bayelsans.

IN 2016, Governor Henry Seriake Dickson started his Reforms with vehemence and a sense of mission. He held several town hall meetings with stakeholders, who included traditional rulers, Chiefs, labour leaders Youth and Women Groups and top civil servants. Even technocrats outside the mainstream Civil Service shared their wealth of experience. The Deputy Governor Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah rtd was made the head of all Committees in the Restoration Reform Agenda. That was why the Reforms commanded huge stakeholders buy-in, and they succeeded.