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30 Jan 2007 : Column 58WH—continued
An important example of how DFID does its work is in Wudil, which is a semi-urban, semi-rural region of 200,000 people in Kano. Wudil had a water pumping and distribution system in the past, but the legacy of neglect, corruption and skills flight that is sadly so
common in Nigeria meant that the system fell into disrepair and decay. DFID stepped in to help local people rehabilitate and run the system, implementing a new management structure that has made the water distribution system more accountable and reactive to local users. The result is a public-community partnership that brings together the Kano state government, the state water board, the four local authorities responsible for the area covered by the scheme and the people of Wudil.
The basic engineering at the pump head has now been completed. I am glad to say that as a result the facility can now pump 10 million litres of water a day, as opposed to the 500,000 litres before the project began. Work is now under way to upgrade the supply piping, so that more of that water reaches the communities that need and so richly deserve it.
In parallel to the physical infrastructure, DFID is also helping to set up the human infrastructure that is needed to ensure the maintenance and smooth running of the water supplies. Community associations are being set up to represent the views of water users. Those associations will ultimately be responsible for both the collection and payment of mutually agreed fees for the water used in those communities. The system allows users at the grass roots full control over and accountability for the money paid and the services delivered. The scheme as a whole will be overseen by the Wudil region water supply association, which brings together elected representatives of the community, local government, traditional rulers and others. The scheme will be subsidised by the Kano state government, which will also pay for further rehabilitation work.
As I have said, the Wudil region water supply programme is just a pilot scheme. Unforeseen problems will inevitably occur, but by working through those it is hoped that the example set will allow other local communities to establish their own schemes. When we visited the Wudil water pumping station and talked to local people, we were made aware of the desperate need for more water provision schemes. There are several separate arrangements for the distribution and maintenance of water in the local regions, which involve all elected representatives from local to national level, including members of Nigeria’s Congress. That might sound puzzling to hon. Members, who would assume that the local elected representative should carry out the job that he or she was democratically elected to do. However, the sad fact is that local people do not feel that they can rely upon or even trust their local elected representatives to manage such tasks without those additional oversight mechanisms.
Jim Sheridan: On the issue of democratically elected politicians, my hon. Friend will be aware of the forthcoming elections in Nigeria, which will make a fundamental difference not only to the way in which people live their lives in Nigeria, but to the western world. Does he have any confidence that the elections will be held and that they will be truly accountable?
John Robertson:
My hon. Friend asks an important question. I hope and pray that the answer is: yes, the elections will be held and yes, they will be accountable.
However, the sad fact is that although they will be held, they will not have the same accountability that we would expect in this country. It is for that reason that people such as ourselves have a job to do in raising the awareness of our Government and others, in order to help oversee the elections and see that they are as good as they can be.
The system of management adopted is undoubtedly more complex than might have been hoped for, but it is the only way in which local people will feel confident that the fees that they are asked to pay to run the water supply system are not spent foolishly, diverted to unrelated expenditure or even dropped off into somebody’s private bank account, as happens all too often.
Some days after our delegation visited the project in Kano, we visited another community called Iddo Sarki, which is just outside Abuja, the capital. There we saw what can unfortunately happen when the responsibility for water supply is left to the care of the local authority. We were shown several standpipes that had been supplied by the local government. Only two of six standpipes were in use, and even they were not working in anything like an efficient manner. We were told that the newest pumps had lasted for only a few days before breaking and that no one had ever fixed them. We saw that plastic piping similar to that which is used in guttering—very thin and unfit for purpose—had been laid partially below the ground in main thoroughfares. As one would expect, the piping had consequently been broken and become absolutely useless. Again, no one had come to relay or repair the piping.
We asked the people why they had not complained to their elected representatives and when their elected representatives had last visited their community. The villagers told us that they had not seen their elected representatives and that they had not been to the village. In fact, the only time an elected representative was seen or heard from was when there was an election and money was sent to the village to have a party. However, a party is no good to someone with no decent water to wash down the food with, even if they can afford it.
There is a serious problem in Nigerian political life, and a core reason why basic services are not being provided by authorities democratically responsible for communities such as those that we visited. I emphasise that our concerns are about not the original money, but what happens to it afterwards: people skimming off the top and diverting it to their own pockets. People then end up with thin piping—“conduit” as we would call it in this country—totally unfit for maintaining water pressure or, for that matter, having water run through it. The company that gets the job disappears and is never heard of again, a bit like the elected representatives. All that must be stopped. What are the UK Government doing to tackle the all-too-frequent corruption?
Another concern is that local officials lack the motivation to provide the services and local communities lack the sense of empowerment to demand their rights. In the case of water provision, there is a fundamental breakdown in the social contract between officials—both elected and appointed—and the people whom they are supposed to
serve. Sadly, that is all too often true of the provision of many other basic services in Nigeria.
The problem of poor access to water, as was pointed out repeatedly at the World Economic Forum just last week, is largely a problem of weak capacity and poor governance. Obviously, that is a highly unsatisfactory state of affairs. Although measures being taken in specific instances by the Department for International Development to recreate a more positive relationship are most welcome, and will contribute towards a renewed sense of empowerment in Wudil, the role that DFID can or even should play in intervening in the fundamental relationship between the people and Government of Nigeria is clearly limited.
What role should the UK play in attempting to support an environment in which that fundamental relationship can become entrenched and improved? Groups such as the all-party group on Nigeria will continue to visit the country and talk to local people about their concerns. The group will revisit the communities that we have seen to find out how things have changed—hopefully, improved—since our previous visit. We will continue to write reports such as the one, soon to be launched, on the findings of our last visit and use them to ask the Nigerian Government what measures they will take to address the concerns expressed to us by the people we meet.
We can also work to ensure that when the elections mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire, North (Jim Sheridan) take place, as they are scheduled to do in April this year, they do so in a free, fair and transparent manner. What are the Government doing to ensure that they will be free and fair? Lastly, we will continue to support and champion the efforts of DFID and other agencies like it.
However, for now I should like to ask the Minister a few questions. What audit checks are the UK Government carrying out to ensure that projects are completed properly? How do the Government ensure that the right money goes to the right people and is used in the right places? Are regular checks carried out before and after the completion of projects? Given the partnership with the World Bank and the fact that countries other than the UK invest in Nigeria, does the Minister agree that the United Nations should consider establishing investment rules to ensure that money is not embezzled, but used to benefit the people of Nigeria and other countries?
Nigerians should have the opportunity to lift their heads above everyday survival needs and demand the wider accountability that they so sorely deserve. That should be possible in a country so rich in natural resources and human potential. I thank the Minister for his time. I hope that he will take a few minutes to respond to the points raised by me and my hon. Friend.
1.14 pm
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Mr. Gareth Thomas):
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, North-West (John Robertson) for the opportunity that he has given the House to consider development in Nigeria. I welcome his work and that of my hon. Friend the Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire, North (Jim Sheridan) in continuing, through the
all-party group, to keep Nigeria in the eye of the House of Commons and particularly that of the Department for International Development.
Let me repeat what my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has already made clear: he welcomes and looks forward to the report on which the all-party group is working. He has already written to my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, North-West to say that he would be happy to meet him and other all-party group members to discuss the result of their recent visit and the prospects for DFID’s work in Nigeria.
As my hon. Friend said, the role of development and development agencies in Nigeria is particularly important, given the country’s huge population—140 million people, one in five of sub-Saharan Africans. If Africa and the world in general are to meet the millennium development goals—an aspiration that the whole House shares—Nigeria has to make substantial progress. As a Government, we have a responsibility to help the Nigerians with that. Progress has been made; my hon. Friend gave a number of examples of that, and President Obasanjo and his Government deserve credit for it.
However, my hon. Friend was right to highlight the scale of the development challenge that remains. Nigeria is off-track on most of the millennium development goals. As he made clear, its human development indicators are particularly shocking: one in five children dies before the age of five, and at least 7 million children of primary school age, most of them girls, do not go to school. Despite some recent advances, which we have supported, less than a third of children complete a full course of immunisation.
The root cause of the many challenges that remain in meeting the MDGs in Nigeria is the damage done to Nigeria’s economy, democracy and governance more generally by the years of military rule. The democratic Government, who were elected in 1999, have done much to create a stable environment, in which we hope, for example, that the gains made from the debt relief deal agreed in 2005 can be used extremely well.
We are beginning to see the fruits of the deal: last year, for example, moneys from debt relief helped to train 40,000 new teachers and retrain a further 145,000. My hon. Friend may also be interested to know that some of those debt relief moneys are also being used for investment in water and sanitation, an issue of particular interest to him and the all-party group. For example, money is being spent on bore holes, small earth dams and irrigation schemes in 12 river basin areas, which are tangible examples of the benefits of that debt relief deal for people in Nigeria.
The more stable democratic environment means that we are looking forward to a successful handover of power in May from one civilian President to another, the first time that that has happened in Nigeria’s history. As both my hon. Friends have made clear, that election process will be hugely important. The key to it is for us to see, and Nigerian people to endorse, the reform process that will go forward under whoever is the successful candidate. We need Nigeria to make better use of its own resources to deliver good-quality basic services. As a Government, through DFID, we can try to support that process. However, in the end, that better governance has to come from the Nigerians themselves, and there are encouraging signs.
Jim Sheridan: On that point, does the Minister agree that some of the major oil companies have a shared interest in establishing a fair democratic society in Nigeria? To what extent, if any, does he think the oil companies can play a part in encouraging people to have a democratic, transparent election and creating some stability in the region?
Mr. Thomas: My hon. Friend is right that the private sector, be it multinational oil companies or Nigeria’s own private sector, has a role to play and a responsibility to get involved in encouraging transparency, tackling corruption and promoting good governance. One of the most important ways in which it can do that, given the importance of oil to the Nigerian economy, is by supporting the extractive industries transparency initiative. The EITA process is backed by many Governments and private sector companies, and it is beginning to make a difference in terms of increased transparency, efforts to root out corruption and improvement in the use of auditing arrangements so that civil society can track how money raised through the exploitation of oil, for example, is spent and whether it is used for the purposes of all.
My hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, North-West asked how we are supporting the elections. I hope that he will be encouraged to hear that we are working closely with the European Union and the Commonwealth to encourage international observation and to ensure that there is effective voter registration. He may not know that the voter registration process is due to finish today.
We are spending some £7 million to support the elections process. That support has two essential components. Some £4.5 million is going to a consortium of civil society organisations, and we are working with the media and political parties to put in place the necessary conditions for a smooth elections process. The other £2.5 million will help to ensure that the right organisations are in place with the right staff and the appropriate capacity so that the elections can run smoothly. Hence the spending on supporting the voter registration process, and ensuring that women participate in the elections and that there is good domestic monitoring on the ground during the elections.
John Robertson: When some of us were in Nigeria in November, we met the electoral commission. There was a certain amount of dissatisfaction with the registration process. I agree with the Minister that the elections should go ahead, but there are problems. There is no doubt that the commission is very ambitious in what it is trying to do, but I doubt that it properly registered 130 million people, which is roughly the number of Nigerians.
Mr. Thomas: My hon. Friend is right to mention the ambition of the voter registration drive. He may be aware that voter registration was extended for a month to enable officials to catch up, given the slow start to the process. As voter registration is due to finish today, it is a little early to make a judgment on the effectiveness of the process, but I have no doubt that he and other members of the all-party group will want to explore the issue further with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, and I shall alert him to their interest.
My hon. Friends the Members for Glasgow, North-West and for Paisley and Renfrewshire, North discussed corruption, which is a key issue in Nigeria. Because of the concerns about it, we spend 95 per cent. of the money that we allocate for development in Nigeria outside of Government of Nigeria systems. For example, we work with UN and non-governmental organisations.
However, we seek to use our resources, as my hon. Friends made clear that we should, to support Nigerians in their efforts to reform their own systems so that they can bear down on corruption, and we are starting to see some encouraging signs. For example, people are being brought to book for corruption. My hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, North-West will know that several governors are on trial or have been convicted and are in prison for corruption. He will know also that the former inspector general of police was convicted earlier this year and is in prison.
My hon. Friend will know, too, that there is good co-operation between the Metropolitan police, DFID and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on dealing with assets that have been stolen from Nigeria and transferred to the UK. We have already returned some £1 million of assets that were seized from former governors who sent them to the UK. We have managed to give them back, and we will continue to support the Nigerians in that way.
My hon. Friend may also know that a Metropolitan police adviser has been attached to the Nigerian police force for 2006-07 to help with improvements in investigative techniques, as part of a 12-month FCO project that the Government are supporting. He will also know of our close work with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and our help in developing its capacity further. He may know of the work that we are doing to support the Nigerian Government’s due process unit in tackling abuse of procurement systems such as there has been in the past. That is not only to ensure that donor money, including that from the UK, is well spent, but to help the Nigerians to make better use of their own resources.
I come to the issue of water, in which my hon. Friend takes a particular interest. He may be aware that we supported a £26 million UNICEF girls’ education project in the six northern states with the greatest disparities between the number of girls and boys in school. In some schools in those states, girls’ attendance rates have increased by some 25 per cent. in just two years. Those girl students re-entering school who have been surveyed said that one of the most important factors in their decision and their family’s decision to send them to school was the project’s installation of improved water sources, which relieved them of the burden of collecting water for their families, and the provision of improved toilet facilities at school.
My hon. Friend is right to say that, despite the success of such projects, we are still a long way from everybody in Nigeria having access to the safe drinking water that they need, so we continue to provide other support as well. For example, a £15 million programme of direct support through UNICEF works in eight states to install water points and to mobilise communities to improve sanitation and practices. An estimated 500,000 people benefit from that work. As it
has started to show successful outcomes, we have scaled it up, and the European Community is using the success of that project as the basis for an €80 million programme for rural water supply in six states. The programme is designed to help some 1,400 rural communities and 60 small towns in those states to get access to safe drinking water.
We are going beyond those specific projects. For example, we are working with WaterAid to determine how we can complement its strength in analysis and community mobilisation to support policy reform and strengthen the voice of civil society in the investment plans that the Nigerian Government have for water improvements.
My hon. Friend raised important points about water and sanitation, corruption and the outcome of the elections process. We shall remain closely engaged in working with the Government of Nigeria at federal level, with the states and also with local government to improve the quality of local governance, which, as he said, is ultimately a key to reform. We also want communities to develop their own voice and to argue for improvements with the three tiers of government. We shall continue to work with grass-roots organisations that seek to mobilise communities so that they have more voice in how resources are used.
I know that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State looks forward to the discussions that he is due to have with my hon. Friend and his colleagues in the all-party group, but I welcome this opportunity to set out briefly some details of how we are addressing the concerns that he raised.
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