Mutfwang approved 50℅ ground rent waiver in Plateau-lands- commissioner

…Lalong left N12b contractors’ liabilities, N1b backlog of electricity bill in works ministry

From Daniel Dauda, Jos

The Honourable commissioner ministry of Lands, survey and Town planning, Barr. Peter Gai, revealed that Governor Caleb Mutfwang has granted 50℅ reduction approval for citizens process their lands title at ease.

Gai said since inception of office last year 2023 to date, the ministry were able to issued 1,450 certificate of occupancy to citizens, as they developed a mechanism enabling them to fast track issuance of right of occupancy and certificate of occupancy to citizens within a time frame.

The lands and survey commissioner made the disclosure over the weekend, at the continuation of ministerial press briefing geared towards giving score card of the governor Caleb Mutfwang’s administration performance.

He mentioned poor accommodation, low staff morale, inadequate working tools, and slow processes as some of the challenges  inherited. Noting, they upgraded facilities, reduced processing times for titles, implemented digital signatures for faster processing, improved customer relations, and increased revenue generation.

“We have digitized signatures, improved workflow processes, shut down manual systems, and increased applications as well as Increased revenue by 95%, extended waivers on fees, and focused on new applications.”

In another twists, the commissioner ministry of works, Adams Bulus has lamented that the previous administration under Simon Lalong left contractors liabilities to the tune of N12 billion and N1 billion backlog electricity bill.

Bulus said they paid Governor Mutfwang paid about N5 billion to mobilized some of the contractors back to construction sites.

He also confirmed the governor paid a bulk of the electricity bill with 300 million naira on assumption of office to avoid disconnection, and have been paying a hundred million naira monthly.

The works commissioner mentioned the ministry conducted rehabilitation and patching of roads network within Jos and Bukuru metropolis, and other parts of the state.

Meanwhile, the commissioner ministry of transport, Jatau Davou Gyang confirmed the ministry will launch a 15 Metro diesel buses procured by the state government on May 7, 2024, offering cheaper transportation options.

He said the ministry has Implemented a pilot project tracking vehicle activities to ensure compliance with regulations and enhance security. Disclosed initiating a project to automate all tricycles in the state to improve accountability and curb crime.

He further reiterates state government commitment towards the actualization of railway project, as they completed the first phase of the railway project, connecting Jos terminal to Bukuru, with plans for further expansion to other local governments and states.