The Bayelsa State Government has resolved the protracted operational conflict among revenue-generating Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, in the state capital.
The resolution was reached on Tuesday when the Deputy Governor, Dr. Peter Akpe, received the report of the committee headed by Mr. Ikobho Howells on overlapping functions of environmental health officers in Yenagoa.
The meeting, which was held at the Government House, Yenagoa, adopted the recommendations of the committee, thereby ending the long-running clash involving the Bayelsa State Environmental Sanitation Authority, the Ministries of Health and Environment, and the Yenagoa Local Government Council.
Under the new arrangement, Yenagoa metropolis has been delineated into four operational zones, with each agency assigned a distinct zone to eliminate duplication of functions and multiple revenue collection.
Zone A, which comprises Amarata, Onopa, Yenagoa, Ovom, Azikoro, Agbura, Swali and Famgbe, is allocated to the Ministry of Health, while Zone B, covering Ekeki, Okaka, Yenizue-Epie, Kpansia, Anyama Ijaw, Igeibiri and Obogoro, goes to the Ministry of Environment.
Similarly, Zone C, comprising Yenizue-gene, Biogbolo, Opolo, Okutukutu, Etegwe, Imiringi and Emeyal, is assigned to the Yenagoa Local Government Council, while Zone D, covering Edepie, Akenpai, Agudama-Epie, Akenfa, Yenegwe, Igbogene, Okolobiri, Obunugha, Tombia and Amassoma, is ceded to the Environmental Sanitation Authority.
To ensure easy identification of field officers, the government also introduced colour-coded handbands – brown for Yenagoa Local Government Council, blue for the Environmental Sanitation Authority, yellow for the Ministry of Health, and green for the Ministry of Environment.
Speaking at the meeting, Dr. Akpe urged the agencies to focus on meeting their Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, targets within their assigned zones, stressing that they are all working for the same government.
In his remarks, the Chairman of Yenagoa Local Government Area, Mr. Bulodisiye Ndiwari, commended the state government for its intervention, expressing satisfaction with the new arrangement.
Also speaking, the Head of Service, Mr. Wisdom Ebiye-Sawyer, said the agencies had been locked in the dispute for over four years, adding that the clear delineation of operational zones would put an end to field confrontations and enhance revenue generation in the state.
