by Usman Alabi
The Kwara State Government has on Sunday flag off an N850 million Community Development Programme by presenting sums totaling N165 million to 41 communities in the state.
The Governor of the State, Abdulfatah Ahmed while speaking at the project launching and cheque presentation at the Banquet Hall, Ilorin, said the counterpart-funded scheme was adopted to promote development at the grassroots level.
The governor who was represented at the event by his Chief of Staff, Babatunde Yusuf said the programme would enable all the 193 wards in the state have improved access to infrastructural services that will bring about development.
Under the project, ward-based community associations receive N5 million each to implement water, education, health, energy and other micro-projects on provision of a ten per cent contribution.
He recalled that the government injected N50 million into community development projects in 2015 with additional budgetary provisions of N200 million in 2016 to consolidate government commitment to the projects.
“The presence of counterpart fund of N200 million as contained in the 2016 Appropriation allowed for further draw-down of over N670 million to scale up the implementation of projects across the state”, the governor stated.
He also encouraged the communities to make udicious use of the funds and ensure proper retirement of receipts so as to facilitate the release of the second and third tranches.
Earlier at the event, the Commissioner for Planning and Economic Development, Wasiu Odewale, said 318 community micro projects had been implemented and were in use in different rural communities across the 16 LGAs in the state under the scheme.