ODAHIEKWU OGUNDE, Yenagoa
Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has assured operators of the Nigeria Covid-19 Action Recovery Economic Stimulus (NiCARES) of his government’s support to ensure the successful implementation of the programme in the state.
Diri, represented by his deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, gave the assurance when a delegation of NiCARES paid him a courtesy visit in Government House, Yenagoa.
NiCARES is a Federal Government intervention programme in conjunction with the World Bank targeted at alleviating the plight of the people, particularly the vulnerable, whose livelihoods were affected during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The governor expressed willingness to partner the Federal Government and donor agencies to provide succour to the less-privileged in the state.
He noted that over the years Bayelsa had been supportive and largely successful in the effective implementation of World Bank-funded projects such as the FADAMA and SEEFOR programmes.
He appreciated the efforts of the Federal Government and World Bank for the initiative, but expressed some reservations about the implementation model of such programmes.
He frowned on the idea of giving direct cash transfer to individuals, pointing out that such methods of implementing the programmes could become bureaucratic and would not serve the interests of the people.
“As regards developing SMEs through hand-outs, there is no where in the world where it has worked. If you give people cash transfer, it may not be adequate in the light of our present day economy,” he stated.
Diri, therefore, suggested that the state government should be allowed to handle the implementation aspect as it was in a better position to identify areas of need and deploy such funds in a manner that would be more beneficial to the generality of the people.
In his remarks, Leader of the three-man NiCARES Technical Committee, Dr. Lateef Shittu, said they were in the state to assess its level of preparedness to implement the NiCARES programme.
Shittu, who explained that the Federal Government, in collaboration with the World Bank instituted a $750m intervention programme with a view to providing succour to the poor and vulnerable individuals who lost their earnings as a result of the impact of Covid-19 pandemic that ravaged the global economy.
He said $20m was due each of the 36 states of the federation to assist them provide support to their people with specific focus on three key areas: direct cash transfer, food security and micro, small and medium scale enterprises.