Delta state: an economic dashboard of dubious value (1)

The Delta State Government, through the Ministry of Economic Planning (MEP), engaged the firm of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants of Germany in 2012 to develop an Economic Dashboard Model (Dashboard) as a performance monitoring tool that provides reports on economic performance. A brief on the tool by MEP states that its implementation enhances performance management, increases transparency in inputs and outcomes and highlights areas that require improvements. An economic dashboard exercise, according to the ministry, “… entails the evaluation of the activities of the MDAs against pre-determined key performance indicators”. “Through this mechanism, the present administration is able to assess the actualization of the targets it has set for itself”, the MEP claims in the briefing document.
Government also describes the dashboard as a colour-coded performance measuring tool that shows at a glance how well all the micro and macro sectors of the economy are performing:
• The colour green implies that a sector is performing on target (i.e. 100 percent)
• The colour amber implies that a sector is performing at 75 percent
• The colour red implies that a sector is performing below target/expectation
Rationale
What is the rationale for the dashboard? The Government explains this in the following words:
To successfully implement the state’s policy thrusts in its 3-point agenda, greater transparency is required in presenting the economic situation in Delta state through effective and efficient channelling of the available limited resources. This would go a long way towards encouraging internal and external investors to develop interest in investing in the state as the accountability of government becomes clearer. This desire led to the birth of the Delta State Economic Dashboard.
Citing an article by SA to Governor Uduaghan on Research, Mr. Willy Bee, Professor Alex Akpodiete traced the idea of the Economic Dashboard to the gap between where Delta State ought to be and where it was in 2012. According to him, the idea was a brainchild of the Delta Economic Advisory Team, made up of nine (9) commissioners, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) Comrade Ovuozourie Macaulay and some private sector operatives from the state including Mr. Bismark Rewane (Chairman), Chief Albert Okumagba, Mr. Dere Otubu, Mr. Nduka Obaigbena, Ms Evylene Oputu, Dr.(Mrs.) Ndidi Nolly Edozie, Mr. Lambert Koboye, and Chief John Paul Odhomo.
The commissioners that were members of the Advisory Team included Mr. Kenneth Okpara, Mr. Bernard Okumagba , Kingsley Emu, Dr.(Mrs’.) Anthonia Ashiedu, Mrs. Ann Cahlokwu Orumade, Mr. Patrick Fawthrop, Mr. Afam Obiago, Mr. Charles Ajuyah [SAN] and Barr. Chike Ogeah.
‘’The Delta Economic Advisory Team’s assessment of the Economic management was not too robust’’ Akpodiete quoted Ken Okpara as . saying. The team said ‘’relying on quarterly reports sent in by MDAs was not it.’’ Okpara said that after seeking the advice of a strategy consultant who came up with a computerized tool now known as ‘’Economic Dashboard Computerized Economic Management Tool’’, the Governor bought into it and that was how the Dashboard idea was born. Finance commissioner Kenneth Okpara immediately took the initiative and drove the idea.
Benefits
When asked about the gains of the Economic Dashboard, Mr. Ken Okpara replied: ‘’There was lack of coordination of government business with glaring duplication of government activities as many did not know how they fitted into the Governor’s over- all objectives. However, with the Economic Dashboard implementation that took place recently, most of the challenges have been put in proper perspective and some of the issues resolved. For example, the Direct Labour Agency has been returned to the Ministry of Works as the supervising ministry. In the same vein, the Waste Management Board has been told to report to the Ministry of Environment, and of course subject to the laws establishing the Boards and the Agencies.”
Implementation
The first edition of the dashboard exercise assessed 26 MDAs for the 2011 fiscal year. The second edition covered 28 MDAs for fiscal 2012 and the first half of 2013. A third edition is under way that will assess the 28 MDAs for all 12 months of 2013.
Findings
The maiden edition of the dashboard exercise reported that the entire Delta state economy achieved only 30 percent of its potential in 2011. This was a damning verdict confirming the under-performing government run by Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan during his first four-year tenure as the chief executive of Delta state. Further breakdown using the four segments into which the model classified the state’s economy revealed the degree of the problem per segment. For instance, revenue performance was 4 percent relative to a target of 10 percent. Similarly, human capital development achieved only a third of its target contribution; it scored 12 percent relative to a target of 36 percent. Productivity, another segment of the economy assessed, accounted for 7 percent of the economy-wide performance of 30 percent relative to a target of 22 percent. Lastly, infrastructure accounted for a paltry 7 percent instead of the target of 32 percent.
Furthermore, the report of the 2011 dashboard exercise showed that none of the 26 MDAs assessed was performing on target; five MDAs achieved 75 percent performance while 21 performed below target or expectation!

Weneso Orogun is chair of BusinessDay Ediorial Board