No fewer than 24 communities in Ekiti State on Tuesday received various amounts totalling N360 million to execute crucial projects in their areas.

Presenting the cheques to representatives of the benefitting communities on Tuesday in Ado-Ekiti, Gov. Kayode Fayemi, said that the fund was from the COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (State CARES) Programme.

Fayemi said that the State CARES Programme was jointly developed with World Bank Supported Programme aimed at mitigating the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the socio-economic well-being of the people of the state.

According to him, the project developed by the Federal Government World Bank Support Programme and the Nigeria Governors Forum,  was designed to support budgeted government interventions at the state level.

“This intervention is targeting existing and newly vulnerable and poor households, farmers, artisans, and micro and small enterprises (MSEs) affected by the economic crisis occasioned by the pandemic.

“In May 2021, we inaugurated a State Steering Committee to drive the process for the implementation of the program in Ekiti State, having identified specific Delivery Platforms (DPs) to drive the programme in all the NG-CARES three Results Areas (RAs).

“The Result Areas are: RA1, which covers Social Transfer, Basic services, and Livelihood support: Under this are 1.1 Cash Transfer, 1.2 Labour Intensive Public Works, 1.3 Livelihood Grants, and 1.4Community Infrastructural services.

“The RA2 includes increasing Food Security – which is being implemented by FADAMA, RA3- which is facilitating the Recovery of Medium and Small Scale Enterprises is being implemented by MEDA.

“The Community Infrastructure Services for communities which have been the key delivery area of Ekiti State Community and Social Development Agency, (EKCSDA) for over 10 years, has completed all the processes of facilitating 24 Communities/Group Development Projects amounting to about N360 million naira.

“This is for the provision of infrastructural facilities in three result areas of Education, Healthcare Services, Water and Sanitation.

“As part of the response to the pandemic, the Federal Government in collaboration with the World Bank and the Nigeria Governors Forum which I chaired, developed the State Cares Programme to cushion its effect most especially on the most vulnerable segment of our population,” he said.

Fayemi said the disbursement was made possible as a result of the staggering amount of N550 million which was released in November last year by the administration.

According to him, the N550 million targeted at 40 communities is an advance to kick-start the programme in Ekiti State.

He said that as at today, Ekiti state was the only one to achieve that feat out of the 36 states of the federation.

The governor said the intervention was part of the administration’s promise and commitment to ensure that every community in the state has a good taste of its developmental agenda.

“In Ekiti state, social security and provision of the social safety net have always been a strong component of the governance framework long before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Through various programmes like Owo Arugbo, Ounje Arugbo, cash transfer to the indigent, free education programme, and state health insurance scheme to name a few of those programmes,” he said.

Fayemi, who congratulated the benefitting communities, urged the Community Project Management Committees (CPMC) to be more active and accountable and ensure sustainable plans are put in place for the use and maintenance of their respective micro-projects.

Mr Yemi Alatise, the General Manager, Ekiti State Community and Social Development Agency (EKCSDA), said that the 24 benefitting communities were those that satisfactorily met all eligible conditions for the grant.

“Part of which is the prompt submission of their Community/Group Development Plans as well as meeting up with the World Bank IVA protocols,” he said.

Also, the EKCSDA Chairman, Mr Biodun Akin-Fasae, thanked the governor for promoting the NG-Cares programme through the World Bank in the state.

He promised that the agency would continue to abide by the programme’s implementation guidelines and urged the benefitting communities to do the same

NAN reports that the benefitting communities, which include Igogo-Ekiti, Imila Odo-Ayedun, Odo-Owa, Ikole-Ekiti, and Okosola Ayegunle, received between N12.8 million and N14.6 million each. (NAN)