Date: 2008-07-24

ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, DR ABUBAKAR BUKOLA SARAKI, THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR OF KWARA STATE AT THE PRESENTATION OF CHEQUES TO THE 6TH BATCH OF BENEFICIARIES OF KWARA STATE COMMUNITY-BASED POVERTY REDUCTION PROJECT (KWCPRP) SUPPORT, HELD AT STELLA OBASANJO MULTI-PURPOSE HALL ON THURSDAY 24TH JULY, 2008.

Courtesies,

Today’s official presentation of cheques to the 6th batch of Twenty-Six (26) beneficiaries of the Kwara State Community-Based Poverty Reduction Project (KWCPRP), provides another eloquent testimony to the commitment of the State Government towards achieving her policies and programmes. As a matter of fact, the Community-Based Poverty Reduction Project was instituted by the State Government to re-engineer and empower the people of the state for self-help development and improved quality of lives.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, our administration is encouraged by the successes and impact already recorded by the scheme within the short span of its operations in the State. Quite noticeably, its interventions have not only improved access of our people to the essential basic life enhancing social infrastructures, but have also ensured the availability of management resources needed to propel sustainable development efforts at community levels across the state. It must be emphasized too that strong foundations for a meaningful collaborative development partnerships have been engendered between the State Government and the people of the state through the co-financing of the community initiated projects under the CPRP scheme. The growing number of participating communities in the scheme also attests that the scheme is a veritable and effective development strategy option for addressing the basic development problems of the people at the grassroots.

The State government is no doubt determined to sustain, expand and extend the benefits of the community driven approach to cover all communities in the state. It is in pursuance of this laudable programme that an additional sum of N58.9 million has now been approved for the implementation of projects in Twenty-six (26) new communities across the state. Consequently, the total financial commitment of the State government to projects for the One Hundred and Twenty-three (123) benefiting communities under the scheme now stands at N396.6 million.

In addition, the State Government has approved payment of additional sum of N100m required as counterpart fund for the state to participate in the Community and Social Development Project (CSDP) as well as the follow-on project to the CPRP. This project will commence as soon as the CPRP scheme winds up in December.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, let me at this juncture, congratulate the representatives of the Twenty-Six (26) new communities who are gathered here to receive the first tranche of the approved fund for meeting the stipulated requirements and conditions of the CPRP scheme. It is, however, pertinent to remind you that fund disbursement under this scheme should be judiciously used and accounted for in line with the laid-down procedures of the scheme. I urge members of the implementation committees of the benefiting communities to demonstrate the required forthrightness in the management of the financial resources made in support of the execution of projects in their respective communities.

The State Government appreciates the tremendous support received from our development partners namely the Federal Government and the World Bank in the design and sustenance of this laudable project and wish to assure that the required enabling environment will be provided for the achievement of the objectives of the project in the state.

On this note, distinguished audience, ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to present the cheques totaling the sum of N23.9 million to the Twenty-Six (26) benefiting communities, as the first tranche of the Community-Based Poverty Reduction Project.

Thank you all and God bless.