What is this Programme about
Go to About SPW to read about the programme
Why are you paying below the minimum wage?
The Special Works Programme has been used all over the world to reach out to the unskilled workers in times of distress. In order to be successful with the programme two things are important.
1. All other categories of workers must be discourage from entry. One vital tool for achieving this is to compete within the market wage bracket for that category of worker. This instantly discourages those who are not within that category.
In countries where market wages are lower than the minimum wage the public works wages must be in the market wage level for it to effectively attract the right people.
2. The category of people the programme is designed for are largely agrarian and sometimes will have things to do in the morning or later in the evening on their farms or elsewhere. Things they have used to keep body and soul together. So the programme does not engage them like a regular job. They are not the typical 8 to 5 with coffee break in between. They work for less hours so they can still do the things they are used to as this is just a three months work like an internship.
Why are you using banks?
The programme is designed to use all available electronic means of payment to Beneficiaries. No cash movement will be allowed. So banks must be involved.
The banks will be mandated to open accounts for beneficiaries, obtain BVN for them as well as register them electronically for us for the programme.
The banks will share the programme registration data with us.
Why using select banks and not all the banks?
Since we do not have limitless resources we have determined that leaving the beneficiaries to register in any bank of their choice out of the many banks in the country will not only render the programme more expensive but cumbersome.
Some of the advantages of dealing with a select number of banks with considerable spread include:
1. Logistics and resources of dealing with a few banks are justifiable as against dealing with all of them including ones that will end up with only a few of our beneficiaries because they have a few branches.
2. Easier to reach agreement on modus operandi, standardisation and the format of electronic data to be received from the few banks as against all of them.
What are the criteria for choosing the banks?
1. Good financial standing with the CBN.
2. Good spread within the country.
3. Presence in rural areas of the country.
4. Willingness to register and collate data for us as they open accounts for participants.
5. Readiness to seek out the beneficiaries for the purpose of account opening and registration for the programme.
Which banks are the participating banks?
Go to www.specialpublicworks.gov.ng to check on updates on this.
How many banks will work with you?
For the exercise to be effective we believe we should get not too many but with a considerable spread all over the country. If we can get 4 or 5 of them that will meet our conditions, we will be satisfied.
