The Anambra state government has urged development partners to properly identify with the planning ministry to mainstream their activities into the State’s plans and budget.
Commissioner for Economic Planning, Budget and Development Partner (EPDP), Mark Okoye, who made the observation, noted that this would help the ministry to properly acknowledge their support.
Okoye made the call at the start of a 2-Day, 2018 End-of Year-Inter-Agency Review Meeting Friday in Awka on.
The meeting was aimed at reviewing progress made in all the inter-agency activities in the state in the year under review and for better planning in the year ahead.
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Okoye noted that the administration of Gov. Willie Obiano had visibly demonstrated willingness to work with development partners toward the actualisation of state’s vision and aspiration.
“Government’s counterpart contribution has always been paid with a sense of duty and commitment. The Governor has gone further to create an enabling environment for these partnerships to thrive,’’ he said.
The commissioner told the participants to resolve with renewed focus and commitment toward ensuring that Ndi Anambra would get the best from these partnerships.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Leo Imoka, maintained that donor funds, be it loan or grant had to be justified by projects implemented as well as their impacts, or be stopped.
“This review is critical as it will either make or mar your budgets and projects going forward; your presentations will determine whether the governor will scrap or retain your partners and projects.’’
The head, Partnership Coordination Department in the Ministry, Ebere Aghaji, said the objectives were to review achievements, constraints and lessons learnt, so as to assess relevance of programme interventions.
It would also define strategies to improve future programme interventions in the state, she added.
Mrs Nneka Onwudiwe, Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to Governor on Donor Agencies and Programme Manager, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), called on participants to ensure that projects implemented were aligned with the state’s vision and mission.
Onwudiwe added that the review meeting was critical in evaluating progress made, including challenges encountered to ensure better developmental collaboration for the state.
Implementing partners review and verifiable impacts made include: increase in Rice production from 2.5 metric tons to about 5 metric tons.
It also include the construction of Aggregate Buildings, where farmers store their harvested crops during last flooding as well as construction of access roads to farms and markets.
Others are payment of N5.9 million to flood-affected farming groups having insured their farms (the latest scheme by the Ministry of Agriculture in line with Governor’s pillars) by FADAMA III and access to capital for farmers and linkage to microfinance institutions by RUFIN.
It was also to impact on Sorghum planting and production, an innovation introduced by Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Programme Phase 1 (ATASP-1).
It offered opportunity for commodity fair, where farmers advertise their products by International Fund for Agricultural development (IFAD) and construction of five widow homes in Oroma-etiti, Osomala, Nnobi and Obosi by UNDP.
