by crossriverwatch admin
Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State is using social and community development projects to fight against poverty in the state, Professor Ndiyo Ayara, Special Adviser to the governor on economic matters has said.
Prof. Ayara who stated this while declaring open a three day capacity building training workshop for community management committee members organized by the State Community and Social Development Agency said that the agency had become a tool to touch the lives of people especially in the rural areas.
He said that the Governor Imoke’s led administration was very much committed to social development activities, adding that the programme which came into the state for poverty reduction had succeeded in changing the lives of the people while the agency had remained the most successful in all other agencies.
The Special Adviser who is also the state vice chairman of state planning commission said that the partnership between the state and World Bank was a true one where the World Bank had provided support and resources for the execution of the projects in the communities.
Ayara who said that the project was the most successful World Bank project in the state said that in every five communities in the state, about three were known to have been touched by the agency.
In his address, the General Manager of Community and Social Development Agency, Pastor Victor Ovat said that the state government had gone beyond its agreement of N100 million counterpart funding annually with the World Bank, adding that in 2012, the government approved N200 million.
Pastor Ovat who said that the agency had received funding beyond what the federal government and World Bank budgeted, said that so far about N706 million had been disbursed to implement various projects in the communities and that about 251 projects had been completed.