Kogi agency to spend N220m on community projects

Kogi State Community and Social Development Agency (KSCSDA), on Wednesday, has said that over N220 million would be expended on projects in 13 focal communities before the end of June 2020 in Kogi State.

The General Manager of Kogi State CSDA, Mallam Momoh Dauda, stated this on Wednesday at a two-day training organised by the agency for Group Project Management Committees and Community Project Management Committee, held in Lokoja, and funded by the state government in collaboration with the World Bank.

He said that the aim and objective of the training was to equip the participants with the requisite knowledge of the procedure of the agency in the areas of project execution and maintenance before the disbursement of funds for the project.

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According to him: “In the month of January 2020, we trained six communities across the state and now, we are training another set of seven communities and the sum of N220 million will be expended on execution of 26 micro-projects in the 13 communities that have been trained.

“The seven focal communities undergoing training right now were picked from the agency’s focal communities in Okene, Okehi, Dekina, Olamaboro and Kogi local government,” he explained.

While stressing on the execution of quality projects, the General Manager warned the representative of the communities that the agency would not compromise standard.

“The Kogi State Community and Social Development Agency has deemed it necessary to equip you with the necessary skills and competence to be able to deliver your project on time and budget.

“I want to also bring to your understanding that there are communities and groups that have not gone beyond training. After the training, they just went to sleep. I want to believe that your case will not be like that because it will amount to waste of resources and time.”

While commending the state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, for prompt payment of funds for rural communities through the world bank, the General Manager appealed to the governor to do more to enable other communities to benefit from the projects.

Speaking on behalf of other trainees , Mallam Umar Abdulrahman, from Oruvecheba community in Okene local government area, said that the training would enable them gain knowledge on project execution and management.

He commended the agency for their effort in ensuring that the living standard of the people living in the rural areas improve through the provision of projects that have a direct impact on the lives of the people.