Government desires every community to benefit – Ekedayen

Kenneth Obieh

The Commissioner for Economic Planning and Chairman of the State CARES Steering Committee, Mr. Sonny Ekedayen, said every community will benefit from the Delta Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus (D-CARES) Programme.

The Commissioner disclosed this during the project launch and presentation of the first tranche of the cheque for the rehabilitation of the Health Centre at Ibedeni Community in Ndokwa East Local Government Area, organised by the Community Driven Development Social Implementation Unit of the Delta CARES programme.

The Commissioner, who was represented by the Delta CARES State Coordinator and Secretary of the State CARES Steering Committee, Lady Dr. Patience Ogbewe, said that every community will benefit from the Delta CARES programme provided they follow the project cycle, which starts with an expression of interest.

He thanked the Ibedeni Community for choosing the rehabilitation of the Health Centre, saying that every community member will be able to access it to meet their basic health needs when it is fully rehabilitated.

The Chairman also disclosed that the community will no longer have to travel to other communities to seek health care services and that they should guard the project jealously to avoid all forms of vandalism when it is completed, noting that maintenance should be key to them.

The Commissioner for the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community and Social Development, Princess Pat Ajudua, appealed to the Ibedeni Community to judiciously utilise the funds to achieve good results that will earn reimbursement to the State Government by the World Bank.

The Women Affairs Commissioner, who was represented by the Technical Head of the Community Driven Development Social Implementation Unit, Mr. A. Orubu, urged them to carry out the implementation according to laid-down procedures and with speed, considering the weather at this time.

In her remarks, the Delta CARES State Coordinator, Lady Ogbewe, explained that the mandate is simple but urgent: to upgrade communities in line with existing global practices as outlined in the M.O.R.E Agenda Policy of the Governor of the State.

She noted that the new dispensation of the D-CARES intervention, in collaboration with the NG-CARES National and the World Bank, is to build the resilience of communities so that no shock can break them.

The Technical Head of the Community Driven Development Social Implementation Unit, Mrs. A. Orubu, noted that the project is a collective responsibility of the entire community and that the Community Project Management Committee (CPMC) must carry the community members along in all that they do to avoid unnecessary gaps that could cause conflict and affect implementation.

She also admonished that there should be no abandoned project, saying the project must be completed and put into use in order to earn good reimbursement to the state.

The high point of the ceremony was the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) by four members of the community and the presentation of the cheque to the Chairman of the Local Government Council, who later presented it to the community.